The word “chelate” is derived from the Greek word “chele,” which means, “claw.” Originally, it referred to the clamping down of a crab’s claw. Its relationship to chelated minerals refers to the action of one or more amino acids (proteins) attaching and completely surrounding a mineral with a new complex being formed as its protective coating. The quality of this coating varies from product to product and that old saying, “you get what you pay for,” is very true.
When you ingest a tablet, or capsule, of a commercially prepared chelated mineral product, the initial environment with which it comes into contact with is stomach acid. In the acidic medium of the stomach, poorly coated capsules and tablets may fall completely apart. Capsules disintegrate in about 2 minutes, with tablets lasting about 15 minutes.
The stomach acid then breaks down the chelate coating and ionizes the mineral, allowing it to go free to react with anything which with it comes into contact. Any chelate that might have been formed around the mineral is now gone. This is why it is essential for chelates to be made from amino acids using milk solids as the protein source and not amino acids made from inexpensive, incomplete vegetable proteins.
Incomplete vegetable proteins have the tendency to allow the stomach acid to remove and actually tear apart the chelate material. When this occurs, the mineral may reach the intestines, form an insoluble precipitate and be excreted without being absorbed for cellular use.
If, however, a quality chelate coating is applied, the mineral is protected by this pH sensitive coating and reaches the intestines where the coating should dissolve, allowing absorption of the mineral and subsequent utilization by the body. Chelated minerals may therefore be considered safer, mainly because they can be taken in smaller amounts instead of a larger, possibly toxic dose, to achieve the desired level.
