What is the best calcium supplement to take?

Question

There's so many out there...... liquid, tablet, gel capsule?.... calcium citrate, lactate, gluconate, carbonate?.... combo? taken with fatty acides? with vitamin k or no vit k? 1100 ml or less than 500? 1 or 2 does??

Answer 1

Any calcium citrate (Such as Citracal) supplement is a good supplement. It absorbs into the bloodstream more efficiently than calcium carbonate (Such as Caltrate).

Answer 2

checkout http://www.melaleuca.com

product search: 7773

this is an awesome calcium supplement, lmk if i can assist any further. thanks, joey

Answer 3

in my opinion, calcium citrate is the best, the others call all contribute to kidney stone formation, calcium citrate will not.

Answer 4

Any organic calcium supplement such as calcium citrate, calcium gluconate or calcium ascorbate is far better than inorganic calcium supplements such as calcium carbonate as organic calcium is absorbed much better than inorganic calcium.

Answer 5

Whatever you do, make sure to take it with vitamin d.  If not, the calcium will end up in your arteries and not in the bones.

-Justin

http://www.youtube.com/weakbody

http://www.cleancardio.com

Answer 6

Calcium citrate is probably best. Make sure you supplement with Magnesium Citrate, too. Magnesium deficiency is very common and is more important than taking calcium. Also, if your concern is low bone density, calcium supplementation alone won't be enough. You have do perform weight-bearing exercise to build bone density. Weight-bearing exericises, such as squats, running (provided you increase intensity all the time), lunges, deadlifts, etc. help create the microfractures in bones that signals them to increase in density.

Answer 7

Since the others covered the type, I'll answer the rest of the questions.

Ideally, capsules or softgels should be taken for Calcium because tablets are the hardest form to break down and require more stomach acid. Most people taking acid-blocking prescriptions aren't able to digest much of any tablets because of that.

The ideal Calcium product would be in a combination, especially a combination with Magnesium, Boron, Vitamin D, Vitamin K, Silica, Zinc, and/or Ipriflavone... those are the main nutrients that help the absorption of Calcium. Not all are required, especially if you are taking blood-thinning medications or have thin blood (then you'll want to look closely at the Vitamin K content). Also, ej is right that weight-bearing exercises help to promote bone strength.

For dosage size, you don't want to take more than 600 mg of Calcium at any given point in time because that's the most your body can absorb at once. If you take more than 600 mg at once, the rest could be deposited elsewhere in your body (including the Kidneys and arteries, even if it is Calcium Citrate). Since the RDA for Calcium is 1,000 mg, 2-3 doses are typically preferred... you won't find any good Calcium product that only recommends 1 dose per day (it would either be too high of a dose or not enough for the day).

Some people are recommended more Calcium throughout the day than others, but those recommendations should still be followed for optimal absorption. Good luck!