Best Calcium Supplements

Posted on July 30, 2009 in Consumer Goods, Health & Medicine, Holistic Remedies

When your body doesn’t have enough calcium in the blood stream, it “borrows” calcium from your bones. This is why calcium deficiency is dangerous and could result in osteoporosis or other bone diseases. On average, we need about 1000mg of calcium per day. A serving of dairy provides about 300mg. A calcium supplement is an excellent way to make up for the lost difference in your diet.

Calcium carbonate is a safe, effective calcium supplement. It is often found in conjunction with antacids, such as TUMS. This inexpensive supplement can be taken with or without meals more than once a day. Calcium citrate is also found in antacids and is also a safe and effective means of supplying calcium to the body. Calcium carbonate has a more concentrated amount of calcium (about 40%) than calcium citrate (about 21%) therefore it takes fewer tablets to reap the benefits.

Coral calcium is made from limestone, and is a kind of calcium carbonate. Coral calcium has been penalized by the FDA for making claims that were not backed by scientific research. Many websites distributing this supplement were censored to remove these claims.

Calcium is never found by itself in nature. It forms compounds in the form of calcium salts, such as calcium carbonate. The percentages above refer to the amount of elemental calcium in each compound. The elemental calcium is what gets absorbed into the body and used. The recommended intake of 1000mg is in reference to 1000mg of elemental calcium.

Pregnant or breastfeeding women in particular should take care to monitor their calcium intake. Pre-natal vitamins, which supplement a wide variety of minerals, only supply 200-300mg of calcium per tablet.