Elsewhere on this web site you will read that one of the many benefits of calcium orotate is its effectiveness for suppressing appetite among chronic overeaters, a phenomenon that Dr. Nieper mentions almost casually in one of his research papers. Although Nieper was more concerned at the time with treating serious medical conditions such as multiple sclerosis, chronic hepatitis, and severe psoriasis, his comment about appetite suppression really caught my attention. If calcium orotate is so effective in general, I wondered, why isn’t it better known as a treatment for weight loss, an issue to which so many of us can relate?

I decided to try out calcium orotate for myself and was astonished with the results. For me the effects were dramatic and almost immediate. Over a period of months I lost over 25 pounds without dieting in any way. During this time I ate all the food I wanted without counting calories. I was able to do so and still lose weight simply because I wasn’t as hungry as before. I found that small meals quickly filled me up; eating anything larger would leave me feeling uncomfortably full.

At the same time I became aware that calcium orotate was causing other effects as well. One 745 mg tablet was enough to wake me up, elevate my mood, and give me a pleasant buzz in the head. Of course, appetite suppressing drugs such as amphetamines can also act as cognitive stimulants, but there’s a world of difference between such drugs and calcium orotate. For one thing, calcium orotate is a natural product, the calcium salt of a component of whey. More important for me is that calcium orotate does not increase either my heart rate or blood pressure, two parameters I’m careful to monitor every day. Both heart rate and blood pressure would shoot up if I were taking amphetamines because this class of drugs releases norepinephrine, a powerful cardiovascular stimulant. The evident inability of calcium orotate to release norepinephrine means that calcium orotate utilizes a different metabolic pathway to achieve its cognitive and weight-loss effects. Precisely what that pathway is remains unknown.

After some experimentation I found that what works best for me is to take a single tablet on an empty stomach in the morning and then eat a modest, protein-rich breakfast about a half hour later (but not earlier). The appetite suppressing and cognitive enhancing effects of calcium orotate typically show up a half hour to an hour after ingestion and last for a total of about 8 hours. If the effects start to flag a bit, I’ll occasionally take a second tablet around noon. I don’t recommend taking two tablets at the same time, however, since a dose of that size leaves me feeling lightheaded and a bit queasy.

Delighted with my initial success, I decided to confirm my results by running an informal trial of calcium orotate among friends. I handed out bottles to Donna, Tom, Mark, and Jeanne, with the following results: Donna and Jeanne both lost weight, an average of 6 pounds per month, by taking one to two tablets per day. Both noticed the cognitive stimulation as well and Donna in particular reported that it had lifted her depression. By contrast Tom and Mark did not notice any effects, but since both are large men they may have needed a bigger dose than a single tablet per day. Tom had some difficulty in sticking with the program, so his lack of consistency in taking calcium orotate on a daily basis may have sabotaged any possibility of his seeing results. After dropping out of the “trial” he did, however, give his remaining supply of tablets to his wife Tess, with dramatic results. Tess is not someone I’d consider overweight, but the calcium orotate still worked its magic on her and she was able to drop a few pounds as well. Ultimately, Tess discontinued its use since she found that even one tablet per day was becoming too stimulating for her.

After calling the supplement company LifeLink, and talking with Troy and from his friend Ken, I’ve come up with a series of suggestions for maximizing the benefits of calcium orotate:

• Although it may not work for everyone, there’s a 60 to 80 percent chance it will work for any given person. Some people don’t feel anything after consuming several tablets while others can’t stand the effects of even a single tablet. Most people, however, will find that a single tablet per day is an effortless path to losing weight.
• You’ve got to give it a chance to work. If one tablet per day doesn’t have an immediate effect, keep trying for several days or try increasing the dose.
• Consistency is important. Take the specified dose every day to make it work.
• Take the first dose of the day on an empty stomach. Eating food too soon after can diminish the beneficial effects. On the other hand, eating no food at all after can make the stimulating effect too intense for some people.
• For those who can stand the extra stimulation, I’ve found that a more effective way of losing weight might be to wash down a calcium orotate tablet with a caffeinated beverage (e.g., green tea or coffee).

And in answer to the rhetorical question I posed in the opening paragraph of this article, I still have no idea why calcium orotate isn’t better known as a treatment for weight loss. Hopefully this situation is about to change. So let’s say you heard it here first.

With regard to the other orotates, I have previously mentioned that magnesium orotate increases endurance in exercising athletes and that potassium orotate has been shown to increase blood levels of reduced glutathione, the body’s natural antioxidant. Since endurance depends critically on the levels of oxidative stress in exercising muscle, I guessed that adding some potassium orotate to the magnesium orotate I was already taking might yield even better results. In general I take one tablet of each of the orotates every morning; on exercise days, I increase the dose by taking an extra tablet each of potassium and magnesium orotate an hour or two before heading for the gym. It didn’t take long for the results to become obvious. I’m now pushing heavier weights on the Nautilus machine than I’ve ever done previously.

I might as well add that since I’ve started taking one tablet each of zinc and lithium orotate each morning, I haven’t been sick once although the rest of my family has come down with an assortment of colds, flu, and intestinal viruses. So I’m sold on the immune-boosting effects of the orotates as well.

Is there anything Dr. Nieper’s magical, mineral orotates can’t do?