How To Make Calcium Supplements from Eggshells
Many of us were brought up to eat eggs reasonably carefully, making sure that we didn’t accidentally eat a piece of shell. In fact, as long as it’s small enough to go down safely, it probably would do more good than harm!
The Chicken and the Egg
Eggshells are a brilliant source of calcium. Consisting of 95% calcium carbonate, the composition of essential minerals can be enormously beneficial to our bones and teeth.
Many chicken owners grind up the shells and feed them back to their chooks. If that’s what you do, then hold back a few to supplement your own diet! If you buy your eggs, then for the purpose of making these supplements, search out organic, free-range eggs if possible.
How to Take It, How to Make It
The supplement couldn’t be easier to make. You’re basically aiming to grind the clean eggshells into a very fine powder, so that it can be taken easily.
We generally need around 1000 – 1500 mg of calcium every day (1 tsp of eggshell powder equals around 1000 mg). While it’s possible to get some of that from a balanced diet, taking a supplement can sometimes be necessary.
Calcium carbonate is more bioavailable when taken in doses of no more 500 mg at one time, so you could aim for two or three doses throughout the day, unless you’ve been guided by a medical professional to aim for anything more or less than a standard dose.
Another way of storing eggshell powder is to make up your own batch of supplements, by filling empty capsules (gelatin and vegetable cellulose types are widely available online) using a paper funnel and storing in a clean, dry jar.
You’ll need:
- Eggshells – as many as you can use/have
- An electric or manual coffee/spice grinder or pestle and mortar
- Clean, dry jar with lid
- Empty supplement capsules (optional)
Method:
1. Use your eggs as usual, but retain the shells. Wash them in hot water, removing any dirt. Don’t take out the membrane inside – it’s rich in minerals.
2. Boil the shells for five minutes and leave to dry. You can place them in an oven set to a low heat for 15 minutes if you want to speed things up.
3. Once completely dry, place in your pestle and mortar or grinder and grind/pound to a very fine powder.
4. Sieve to remove any remaining large particles and place into a clean, dry jar with a lid.
5. If you want to fill empty capsules, then secure one half of each of the capsules using non-toxic putty or dough as a base.
6. Now make a papper cornet and fill the capsules, then store them in a clean, dry jar.
Uses and Calcium Supplement Shelf Life
It’s believed that the calcium carbonate in the eggshell powder becomes more bioavailable when added to certain other foods and liquids. Vinegar, lemon juice and live yoghurt are all good for that. Many people sprinkle the powder on cereal – particularly granola or muesli – or mix it into a fruit smoothie-type drink.
In fact, the latter option is a particularly good one. If you add a banana to a homemade smoothie, the magnesium it contains helps with bioavailability and calcium absorption. Eggshell powder has other uses too – some add it to toothpaste or mix it with a little coconut oil for a natural exfoliator.
Kept dry and out of direct sunlight, the calcium powder should last for 2 months, possibly more. If you unscrew the jar and it smells bad, then start again – it’s possible that some moisture got in there.
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We buy eggs from a man who raises free range chickens. I have always thrown out the eggshells. Now I’m going to keep them and use them for a supplement
Hi Lori,
Thank you so much for your comment. I am glad you found the article useful.
God bless!
I also use my crushed eggshells in my potting soil to add calcium to my plants. I do hard boiled eggs at least every other week and save all of the eggshells.
Egg shell calcium supplement though is high in calcium it is not biodegradable by human body. Same as orange peel, lemon peel or cucumber. I love the Los way site and need to share the egg shell calcium does not add calcium on contrary will plug arteries and joints.
Thanks so much for these advices and tips, super helpful! I will get on this. Our chicken do not eat organic feed, but at least they are free range.
Hi Elisabeth,
Thank you for your feedback. I really appreciate it.
God bless!
Do you have to boil the eggs? What is the purpose of that?
I would assume to make sure they are clean and bacteria free
It also says put in the oven on low heat. I would imagine another reason is to dry them out in order to make the powder.
BOIL THE SHELLS TO SANITIZE THEM
Chicken can poop on on egg, so just to keep bacterial count down for your consumption sterilize by boiling or oven baking/drying is good idea. Even if returning egg shells for chicken reuse makes bettet shells next time around for future eggs!
Other sources are adamant that cooking egg shells removes the nutrition benefits of egg shell lining. Till better studies are published, I’m taking the more cautious approach, and not cooking eggs or shells before extracting the lining
No, you don’t have to boil the eggs, just save the shells and just boil the shells to remove any chicken poop or bacteria (if any) on the shells. You can also save the water that you boil your shells in to water your plants with after the water has cooled down. It will add calcium to the soil. Just another frugal idea to not waste the water.
I have air dried my egg shells before putting them through my food processor. I’ve been tossing that into my composter and flower beds, never considering ingesting the powder. Can I continue to air dry the shells?
Surely boiling the shells will disrupt or reduce the nutritional content of the membrane and egg shell?
Thanks for sharing your advice. I do it with the vinagre. Now I will do it the way you presented to us. 👏👏
Hi Rosa,
Thank you so much for your comment. We really appreciate it.
God bless!
Do you have an estimate on the amount of powder you get from each egg shell–or how many egg shells it takes to make a tsp of powder?
I add 1 more step. I have a stone wheat grinder for fine flour. I slowly add the powder from the coffee grinder to my wheat grinder and it come out just like wheat flour. It is not as gritty. Never large particles.
very nice post, i definitely love this web site, carry on it
I eat one egg every morning and then I add the fresh & washed eggshell from one eaten egg to my smoothie. Can you tell me how many mg of calcium in one eggshell? I do it every morning and need to know how much I can get from that one eggshell. Thank you
I’ve heard that the eggs must come from a pesticide free farm. . Organic.
Does boiling solve the problem of pesticides. Or. Must the eggs come from an organic farm?
Hi Lynnda,
Organic eggs are always the best option.
However, any egg should be safe as long as you wash it properly and boil it to avoid the risk of food poisoning.
God bless!
I’ve heard that raw eggs and the membrane near the eggshell have a protein called avidin which binds to/depletes biotin. I presume the boiling step of this process inactivates the avidin but I would like to know your thoughts on this. Also does the boiling damage the amino acids in the membrane near the shell?
Another great use if you don’t want to consume them is to dry and grind and use in your vegetable garden. When I plant a veggie I always incorporate a Tsp. In bottom of whole and stir into soil. Tomatoes really love them!
Boiled eggs!
(Always wondered/worried what would happen if we accidentally ate some pieces of shell.)
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