What is Strontium?
Strontium is a metallic chemical element found in great abundance in mineral compounds all over the Earth. It is perhaps most famous in the form of strontium 90, a radioactive isotope which is a byproduct of nuclear fission. Strontium 90 was one of the major pollutants from the Chernobyl nuclear accident in the Ukraine in 1986. Pure forms of the element, along with its isotopes, have a number of uses, from metal alloys to medical imaging. The element is classified in the alkaline earth metals, along with elements such as barium and magnesium. Like other metals in this group, strontium is a very soft, easily worked metal. In pure form, it is silvery and easily oxidized, since it is extremely reactive with air. Chemically, strontium is very similar to calcium, which makes it useful in treatment of conditions like osteoporosis, since it can be absorbed like calcium to bulk up bone density. The element is identified with the symbol Sr, and it has an atomic number of 38. Traces of strontium
Strontium is a naturally occurring element found in rocks, soil, dust, coal, and oil. Naturally occurring strontium is not radioactive and is either referred to as stable strontium or strontium. Strontium in the environment exists in four stable isotopes, 84Sr (read as strontium eighty-four), 86Sr, 87Sr, 88Sr. Strontium compounds are used in making ceramics and glass products, pyrotechnics, paint pigments, fluorescent lights, and medicines. Strontium can also exist as several radioactive isotopes; the most common is 90Sr. 90Sr is formed in nuclear reactors or during the explosion of nuclear weapons. Radioactive strontium generates beta particles as it decays. One of the radioactive properties of strontium is half-life, or the time it takes for half of the isotope to give off its radiation and change into another substance. The half-life of 90Sr is 29 years.
Strontium is a common element which is naturally found in your bones. Studies show supplementation with Strontium in its various forms is well tolerated and completely safe. Strontium lies directly below calcium on the periodic table of elements and that makes calcium, strontium and magnesium all in the same chemical family. They are all naturally occurring metals found in the soil, in foods, and in your body. As an alkaline earth element, strontium is similar to calcium in its absorption in the gut, incorporation in bone, and elimination from the body through the kidneys. Strontium is naturally present in trace amounts with around 100 micrograms in every gram of bone, so when you supplement with strontium you are simply making more of this element available for incorporation into your bone.
“Strontium Bone Support” Strontium Citrate supplement is an organic, stable strontium form (not the radioactive strontium-90 isotope!). There has been a lot on the news about unknown quality supplements on the market. Relentless Improvement Strontium is the only fully documented product in the world, providing a public Certificate of Analysis, tied by lot number to the product shipped to you. Also of concern to consumers are strontium products that do not disclose the “elemental” content in mg. It is critical that you compare apples to apples. If a product seems too good to be true, please be a careful shopper and read the label. Strontium is a trace mineral in the diet whose metabolism is closely tied to that of calcium, and which concentrates in the skeletal system, where it supports the function of osteoblasts (the cells which form new bone) while reducing the differentiation and activity of osteoclasts (the cells which resorb old bone). Extensive evidence supports a role for stront
This Public Health Statement is the summary chapter from the Toxicological Profile for strontium. It is one in a series of Public Health Statements about hazardous substances and their health effects. A shorter version, the ToxFAQs™, is also available. This information is important because this substance may harm you. The effects of exposure to any hazardous substance depend on the dose, the duration, how you are exposed, personal traits and habits, and whether other chemicals are present. For more information, call the ATSDR Information Center at 1-888-422-8737.
