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"Most people don't get enough calcium with their daily diet".
Dickinson said, "and it is also difficult for people to know
how many milligrams of calcium they are taking a day unless they're
very astute about their diet."
Statistics show everyone needs more calcium. In the U.S., Dickinson
said, 70 percent of teenage males and 80 percent of teenage females
don't get the recommended daily amount of calcium, raising the
likelihood that as adults they will be at risk for osteoporosis.
"One in 2 women and 1 in 4 men over 50 will have an osteoporosis-related
fracture in their remaining lifetime," he said. Another head-turning
fact Dickinson related is that a woman's risk for an osteoporosis-related
fracture is greater than her combined risk of ovarian, uterine
and breast cancer.
Osteo provides most people with roughly half their necessary daily
calcium. The national recommended daily allowance is 1,000 milligrams
of calcium a day, but Dickinson said teenagers and women past
menopause require about 1,2000 milligrams of calcium a day.
Dickinson's sister, Jean Dickinson, said the calcium in Osteo
is liquefied to the point that it is clear and flavorless. Using
her public relations and marketing background, she helped her
brother promote the beverage. She said there is a great need for
a calcium-beverage in the marketplace. "A lot of people want to
take more calcium and want to increase their calcium intake. This
is a delicious and easy way."
Her brother has seen the community respond favorably to Osteo.
"People love it," Jon Dickinson said. "At first they don't think
it's going to taste good because they think it's a calcium drink.
But when they try it they're sort of amazed it tastes good."
Osteo's three flavors are orange-pom, lemonberry and tropical
tisane (an herbal tea.) It is organically sweetened and caffeine-free.
Osteo is a handy alternative for people who can't take pills or
have trouble digesting calcium, Jean Dickinson said.
The beverage also contains 80 percent of the recommended daily
allowance of vitamin D along with other vitamins and minerals
designed to help with the mineralization of calcium in bones.
Jon Dickinson got the idea for the beverage more than eight years
ago, but in 2006 he decided to take action. He worked nights and
weekends in his Ross home to create Osteo. He tested it on his
family in unlabeled bottles.
"I remember a few years ago seeing little bottles and test tubes
in his office at home," his sister said.
She said creating the product presented challenges for her brother,
from creating Osteo to bottling and selling it to stores. "He
went through a lot of things with getting the right bottler and
getting labels right. A lot goes into a product. A lot more than
a person would think."
Jon Dickinson does demonstrations in smaller markets throughout
the Bay Area.
Osteoblast Beverages are sold at more than 18 stores in the Bay
Area, the majority in Marin County. "We have a lot of people who
really like the drink and we have a loyal following so far," he
said, adding that adult women tend to like the product the most.
The doctor is working on two new products. One is a calcium-rich
energy drink targeted to young adults. The other is a light Osteo
that will cut the 12-ounce beverage's 120 calories and 32 grams
of carbohydrates in half, using natural sweeteners.
The product is mixable with alcohol and non-alcoholic beverages,
Jean Dickinson said, to create libations including "Osteo-cosmopolitans"
or "Osteo-tinis."
Jon Dickinson is focused on establishing a solid market in the
Bay Area. If Osteo is successful here he hopes to market it regionally
and nationally in the future. Here is one doctor who would rather
do business in a food store than in his office.
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