The advice is simple: to keep bones strong and ward off osteoporosis, especially as you age, get enough calcium – 1,000 milligrams (mg) per day if you’re younger than 50; 1,200 mg if you’re older. You can get calcium in your diet by eating green leafy vegetables; consuming low-fat milk, yogurt and cheese; or opting for calcium-fortified juice, bread and cereal. If you don’t get enough calcium in your diet, you'll need to take a calcium supplement daily. But you may need to know more about calcium to ensure your body gets what it needs.
Calcium Supplement Basics
1. Make sure you check the amount of elemental calcium in a supplement; that’s what your body will actually absorb.
2. Take several smaller doses per day, because your body can absorb only 500 mg at a time.
3. Your body needs vitamin D to use calcium most efficiently, so look for calcium supplements that contain both.
Calcium “Cheat Sheet”
There are several different types of calcium. Check out the chart below for the three most popular types, and to help determine the best calcium supplement for you. Other kinds, such as calcium gluconate and calcium lactate, have very low amounts of elemental calcium and are not recommended. Coral calcium and oyster-shell calcium products also are best avoided because they may contain lead.
| Calcium Type | Pros | Cons |
| Calcium citrate (Citrical, Solgar) 21% calcium |
Most easily absorbed | Most expensive; doesn’t contain much elemental calcium |
| Calcium carbonate (Tums, Caltrate, Rolaids) 40% calcium |
Least expensive; has more elemental calcium | Must be taken with meals or glass of acidic (orange) juice; may cause gas or constipation |
| Calcium phosphate (Posture) 39% calcium | Does not cause gas or constipation; easily absorbed | More expensive than calcium carbonate |
Precautions: Don’t take more than 1,200 mg of calcium (in supplement form) a day unless instructed by a doctor or dietitian. Excess amounts (more than 2,500 mg a day) can harm the kidneys and can reduce the absorption of other minerals like iron, zinc and magnesium. Also, avoid taking calcium supplements at the same time as some kinds of medications, including bisphosponates like alendronate (Fosamax) and ibandronate (Boniva) and certain antibiotics, because it can block their absorption by the body.
thanks to given the desire information about calcium. but i want to know that which is the best calcium to take because there are many calcium brand available in the market.
thanks
I need to take somthing , i am 60 and osteopina not sure what to do now
thanking you
The PARA THYROID controls calcium in the body. It is located behind the thyroid. Four rice sized glands that tell your body when you need calcium and where to send it. If one or more of them are messed up no calcuim can get through. It is easy to fix.
Rita, look at tums. They are gluten free
Calmodulin is not Calcium. It is not a drug too. It is actually a carrier protein (or what we call "transporter" for Calcium). Besides, it is a natural protein that is being synthesized in our body. Peak secretion will be at the age of 20-30 (only applicably for those youngsters with healthy lifestyle and normal diets). After the age of 30, the secretion decreases and deficiency of Calmodulin occurs. This leads to a condition where even you have enough Calcium (as in you do drink milk and take Ca supplement), but there is no transporter to bind to these Calcium ions and bring them into the cell, by permeating the cell membrane (and explains why it is a Calcium transporter). Do you ever noticed that some people take Ca supplement or milk everyday, but they are still suffering from osteopenia or osteoporosis? Why? Answer is too simple that they have no Calmodulin inside their body to transport Calcium ions into the cell. Remember i said Calmodulin secretion decreases after the age of 30?
One more thing, Vit D do help in Calcium absorption, but only up to the blood stream level. For Calcium ions to go from blood to cells (especially bone cells), they need their own transporter, which is Calmodulin.
There are now many scientists doing research on Calmodulin.
If anyone of you are interested to know what is Calmodulin, please feel free to drop a message to my email. I'll explain in detailed. winnkhoo@yahoo.com
Now I am only taking clacium and Vit.D but cannot have another bone density test since I am only allowed one every two years according to some law? I am furious with myself for trusting my Dr. at the time when my bones were fine. Now I have exactly what I was afraid of getting and now suffer the consequences for life. I have found no medication that does not cause bone or chest pains. I also, now at 60, have gained over 20 lbs. and have belly fat that seems to grow every time I put something into my mouth. I also fell 2 years ago and fractured 3 ribs that keep painfully reminding me to never go to a doctor for preventative care again.
The recipe:
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup unfiltered prune juice
1 cup oat or wheat bran (in the cooked cereal section of your grocery store. But it's much, much less expensive in a bulk food store.)
Mix together and refrigerate. Begin taking 1 tablespoon and drinking a full glass of water or milk in the late afternoon. Continue taking for at least 5 days. If the constipation is still present, increase the amount to 2 tablespoons with a glass of milk or water in the afternoon. Increase or decrease the amount you take until you have regular bowel movements.
I had to increase to 1/3 cup in the morning and 1/3 cup in the afternoon before my body got the message. Now I take between 1/4 cup and 1/3 cup once a day in the afternoon. You can mix this into a smoothie, eat it with fresh fruit, or mix it into the milk you pour onto dry cereal.
I freeze the measured portions of applesauce and prune juice in flat plastic containers, pop them out of the containers and vacuum seal them. When I need to make more, I take a package out, empty it into a mixing bowl while still frozen, and pour the oat bran on top, then cover it. In about 45 minutes, it has thawed enough to stir up and keep covered in the refrigerator.
I hope it works as well for you as it does for me.
The mixture almost solidifies when refrigerated, so I always mix it with juice, milk, or yogurt to thin it down.
It sets up pretty hard sometimes, so I add more applesauce to my portion.
Thanks for your help in advance.
Since Calcium Carbonate is naturally available, it should not cost much. On the other hand Calcium Citrate(Citracal) is made in the lab and hence expensive. Lot of people get fooled by the "so called" health/diet industry to go for the costly Citracal. Another advantage of Calcium Carbonate is that it has twice elemental calcium(40%) than Calcium Citrate(only 21%) for the same weight. You do the math and figure out which one is cost effective as well as gives more calcium the body needs.
For example, if you get 600-D Caltrate/Os-cal(Calcium Carbonate form),40% of 600mg tablet is the actual elemental calcium, which is 240mg. If you get the same 600-D Citracal(Calcium Citrate form),21% of 600mg is the actual elemental calcium in one tablet, which is 126mg.
If your metabolism is already compromised, then you need to do trial and error with tablet, chewable or liquid form of Calcium Carbonate and see which one works best for you. Hope this explains.
PS:I'm into health and fitness. I do sprint(one of my unaerobic exercise) for which one needs strong bones and muscle strength.I itake the tablet form.
So you must look on the label to see the true amount of actual calcium in the capsule. a 500 mg capsule may not be 500 mg calcium.
Tablets are the worst. They are so hard that they might just pas through undigested.
I now use a liquid calcium, but not the flavored or colored. To many fillers and dye negate the health benefit of supplements. I use angstrom calcium.
Unlike tablets and capsules that go through your stomach. It is aborbable though the cell with out digestion. Easier digestion = more calcium absorbed. That is the best in my opinion.
lynn king
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