How to make eggshell calcium

Making a powder out of eggshells is the easiest way to consume them. Read on for some ideas on how to use your homemade, whole food, calcium supplement.

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Ingredients and equipment:

1 carton of organic pastured chicken eggs — you can identify good quality eggs by a healthy thick shell, which indicates the chickens have been fed a supportive diet and they are not exhausted from laying too much.

Stock pot

Coffee grinder

1 small Mason jar with secure lid

Directions:

1. Use up your eggs as you normally would, keeping the shell in the carton to make your supplement.

2. When you have your dozen shells, rinse them well in water. Remove any whites that might be stuck, but don’t remove membrane as these have extra nutrients.

3. Fill a stock pot with approximately 6 cups of filtered water and bring to a boil.

4. Carefully put your eggshells into water. This will kill any harmful pathogens.

5. Let cook for 10 minutes, then drain shells.

6. Spread the shells on a glass or stainless steel baking sheet and let dry overnight. In the morning, put in a 200°F oven for about 10 minutes to completely dry out.

7. Once completed, put a few shells into a coffee grinder and run until they are pulverized into a granular form. Continue until all of your shells are powder.

8. Store in a tightly sealed Mason jar in the cupboard away from heat or moisture.

How to consume eggshell calcium

One teaspoon contains approximately 800–1,000 mg of calcium. Consume by mixing in a small amount of water with a meal. Consume 3/4 to one teaspoons daily, divided in three servings with meals. Don’t consume more than one teaspoon a day as it can irritate sensitive digestive tracts or cause constipation.

Other things to do with eggshells

                                                                                                                                             

If you eat a lot of eggs, as is typical with a whole food, ancestral, or paleo-style diet, you may find you have a lot of eggshells going to waste! Luckily there are even more clever ways to use eggshells.

Ø Feed them to your chickens—Homesteaders have found that chickens prefer to eat powdered egg shells over the oyster supplements that are often recommended to maintain good health.

Ø Use the shell’s membrane as an all-natural bandage.

Ø Sprinkle the eggshells around your garden to deter pests.

Ø Give your tomatoes a calcium boost—This prevents blossom-end rot, which is a common tomato problem caused by calcium deficiency. Simply place crushed eggshells in the bottom of the hole when transplanting.

Ø You can also add egg shells to potting soil along with coffee grounds.

Ø The powder can be fed to dogs for extra nutrition and to help medicate diarrhea.

Ø You can also add the powder to smoothies, soups or broths, or make capsules out of them. Simply buy empty gelatin or vegetable capsules and fill with the eggshell powder.

Ø Use the powder in homemade remineralizing toothpaste.

Ø Make homemade sidewalk chalk with eggshell powder, hot water, flour and food coloring.

Ø Soak eggshells in water and then use the mineral-rich water on houseplants and flowers.

Ø Use sterilized and crushed egg shells as a supplement in wild bird feed.

There are so many wonderful ways to use eggshells rather than throwing them in the garbage. Hopefully you’ve found inspiration and opportunities for better health plus sustainability!