Minerals, Chelated

Claims, Benefits: Better absorbed than other mineral supplements.

Bottom Line: There's no need to pay premium prices for these minerals, which are bonded to certain amino acids. They may be less well absorbed than others.

Full article, Wellness Letter, August 1997:

Ask the Expert

Q: Are chelated vitamin and mineral supplements superior to the regular kind? What does "chelated" mean?

A: According to Dr. Sheldon Margen, chairman of our editorial board, there has been little research on minerals chelated with amino acids, and no evidence that chelated minerals are absorbed any faster or better than the regular kind. There's no reason to pay premium prices for chelated minerals. (Vitamins, by the way, cannot be chelated, but may be part of a daily supplement containing chelated minerals.) "Chelate" means "claw," and chelated minerals have been chemically bonded, so that they figuratively hang on, like a claw, to amino acids (the building blocks of protein) or other organic acids. The theory is that this makes them more absorbable. In fact, when the chelated mineral reaches the digestive tract, the mineral is separated from the amino acids by the process of digestion and is handled like any other mineral. Rather than being better absorbed, they might even be less so.

Not all nutrients, and especially not all minerals, in the foods we eat (or supplements we take) are fully absorbed. It's impossible to predict exactly how much of a mineral will be absorbed. Many things affect absorption: other nutrients present in the digestive tract, medications, health problems, age, and so on. Vitamin C, for instance, helps you absorb iron; phosphorous enhances some vitamin B absorption; and vitamin D promotes calcium absorption.

UC Berkeley Wellness Letter, August 1997