Liquid calcium

We all know that calcium plays an extremely important role in our bodies. Everyone knows that it’s important to have a sufficient amount of calcium in order to keep our teeth and bones strong, but calcium actually has several other benefits that many people are unaware of. The average dose that is recommended for daily calcium consumption is anywhere from 800 to 1200 mg a day and depending on whether you are a pregnant or lactating female, or if you are a post-menopausal woman not taking estrogen, your daily requirements can be as high as 1500 mg a day. The truth is that most people do not reach these recommended doses regularly, which causes a deficiency in calcium. Nearly 80% of people are actually calcium deficient and do not even realize it. Although, calcium is found in the foods and drinks that we consume, we often do not eat a well balanced diet, which prevents us from getting adequate amounts of calcium. For this reason it can become necessary to find calcium in a supplemental form.

Calcium can be found in a few different supplemental forms. There are multivitamins that can contain calcium, special calcium tablets, calcium pills, calcium chews and calcium drinks. It seems that there are several different ways of adding calcium to your daily routine, but is there a difference in the effectiveness depending on the form in which you take the calcium? Well studies show that there very well could be. In most tablet and pill forms the calcium is in the form of calcium carbonate. It seems that our bodies are not digesting this particular form of calcium as well as the form calcium citrate, or magnesium, which is often found in the liquid supplements. Since our bodies absorb calcium much better and quicker in an acidic environment the calcium citrate may have a greater effectiveness. Most often the tablets or pill forms of calcium need to be taken after meals when the acid levels in the stomach are at their highest to improve the absorption of the calcium. When taking the liquid form it really does not matter when the supplement is taken since the calcium citrate will cause the acidic conditions on its own. Also, the pills and tablet forms may not be able to fully break down before they are passes through the intestine. This means that a good portion of the calcium can escape the body untouched and unabsorbed. As well as being combined with magnesium, calcium can often be found in conjunction with vitamin D, which is also known to help aid the body in absorbing calcium.

Obviously taking calcium in any form is better than not supplementing at all, but studies have also shown that it is important to spread the doses of calcium throughout the day in 500 mg increments in order to maximize the amount of calcium that is being utilized in the body. For some reason, our bodies are not able to really digest more than 500 mg of calcium effectively at a time. So be watchful of products that try to convince you otherwise.

If you feel that you may need to start supplementing with calcium then you should first talk it over with your physician. Although calcium is good for us, there are certain conditions and medications that calcium supplements can interfere with. These are times in which an excessive amount of calcium can cause more trouble and can outweigh the benefits. It is best to have your doctors approval before taking any type of supplements due to risk factors associated with pre-existing conditions.

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Last updated on Jun 1st, 2010 and filed under Vitamins and Minerals. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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