Calcium supplements are derivatives of natural products, such as oyster shell or bone. Some are marketed primarily as antacids. Calcium carbonate and phosphate preparations have the highest concentration of elemental calcium, about 40 percent. Calcium citrate contains 21 percent elemental calcium, and calcium lactate and gluconate contain 13 and 9 percent, respectively. Absorption of calcium citrate is 25 percent higher than that of calcium carbonate.

If your diet does not include an adequate amount of calcium, a high quality calcium supplement could provide you with health benefits. It's the easy way to keep your bones healthy and strong.

Calcium reduces the risk of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis affects middle-aged and older persons. A lifetime of regular exercise and a healthy diet that includes calcium builds and maintain good bone health and may reduce the risk of osteoporosis late in life. Daily intakes above 1,000 mg are not proven to provide any additional benefits to bone health.

You can buy a Calcium 600 mg supplement tablet here. If you have an interest in finding out about coral calcium supplements. For information on magnesium.

Types of calcium supplements
Calcium from carbonate and citrate are the most common forms of calcium supplements. Calcium carbonate, the most cost-effective form, should be taken with a meal to ensure optimal absorption. Calcium citrate can be taken without food and is the supplement of choice for individuals with low gastric acid levels or who are taking histamine-2 blockers or protein-pump inhibitors. Calcium lactate and calcium gluconate are less concentrated forms of calcium and are not practical oral supplements.

Calcium and colon polyp
Treatment with calcium supplements for 4 years appears to provide protection against recurrent colorectal adenomas -- the type of polyp that leads to cancer -- for up to 5 years after the supplements are stopped. In the Calcium Polyp Prevention Study, daily calcium supplementation was associated with a reduced risk of colorectal adenomas. Calcium may reduce the risk of colorectal adenomas (and colorectal cancer) by forming a complex with bile acids and preventing potential carcinogens from contact with the inner mucosal lining of the colon. Calcium may have a specific effect on blocking formation of colon cells. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, January 17, 2007.

Calcium and osteoporosis
January 2007 - The Food and Drug Administration is proposing to allow new claims on foods and dietary supplements containing calcium and Vitamin D to show their potential to reduce the risk of osteoporosis. The proposed rule would allow manufacturers to include new information on their food and supplement labeling and to eliminate certain other information, described below. “This is important information for all citizens,” said Robert E. Brackett, Ph.D., director of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Nutrition. “All persons lose bone with age, and the loss can influence an individual's risk of developing osteoporosis. Maintenance of an adequate intake of calcium and vitamin D in all stages of life can help lower one’s risk.” Today’s action is part of FDA’s continued commitment to helping consumers make informed and healthy food choices, and responds to a health claim petition submitted by the Beverage Institute for Health and Wellness, The Coca-Cola Company. The proposed rule would amend one of the first health claims authorized in 1993 through the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 for the relationship between calcium intake and osteoporosis. The proposal would amend this existing health claim by allowing for claims of a reduced risk of osteoporosis with the consumption of both calcium and vitamin D. The proposed rule also would eliminate certain requirements that were a part of the required claim language in the existing calcium and osteoporosis health claim. However, FDA is not changing its conclusion that there is still significant scientific agreement to support claims for calcium intake and reduced risk of osteoporosis. “Osteoporosis is a significant public health problem, especially for women,” said Kathleen Uhl, MD, assistant commissioner of FDA’s Office of Women’s Health. “This new labeling should assist consumers to select foods - and women especially since women do the majority of food shopping in the US - that provide adequate calcium and Vitamin D intake and hopefully prevent the occurrence of osteoporosis in themselves and their family members.” FDA’s decision to amend the existing health claim is based on the agency’s review of the publicly available scientific evidence, which included the 2004 Surgeon General’s report on Bone Health and Osteoporosis and the 2000 NIH Consensus Statement on Osteoporosis, Prevention, Diagnosis and Therapy. Specifically, FDA is proposing to change the calcium and osteoporosis health claim to: Add a claim for calcium and vitamin D together and a reduced risk of osteoporosis. Shorten the claim language by: Dropping the reference to sex, race, and age since the benefits apply to both sexes at all ages and race categories. Dropping the need to identify the mechanism by which calcium reduces the risk of osteoporosis. Dropping the requirement that the claim state that there are limits to benefit of calcium intakes above 200% of the Daily Value.
   In elderly women, adding vitamin D to regular calcium supplements produces long-term improvements in hip bone density.

Weight loss
Contrary to what some studies have suggested, taking calcium supplements does not help overweight adults avoid further weight gain. The study found that calcium capsules had no effect on overweight and obese adults' weight over two years. Annals of Internal Medicine, June 16, 2009.

Food sources of Calcium
The NIH recommends milk and other dairy products as a primary source of calcium. In addition, a variety of other foods are excellent sources of calcium as well. Dark green, leafy vegetables and foods with added calcium can be healthy ways to get enough calcium. By eating a wide variety of foods with calcium, you can help make sure to get the calcium you need each day.

Calcium Dosage recommendations
A high dietary calcium intake combined with vitamin D can increase bone density and reduce fractures in older women and, probably, men. The Institute of Medicine recommends that persons 19 to 50 years of age consume 1,000 mg per day of calcium and that persons older than 50 years consume 1,200 mg per day. The average American consumes less than 800 mg of calcium per day.
   Taking calcium with food in dosages of 500 mg or less increases absorption. Calcium preparations must be dissolved before they can be absorbed; the absorption rate for calcium is about 20 to 30 percent. The absorption of calcium supplements differs by preparation. Foods such as spinach, rhubarb and wheat bran can decrease calcium absorption. Calcium can interfere with absorption of iron, zinc, bisphosphonates and tetracycline. Absorption also requires adequate doses of vitamin D. The recommended daily intake of vitamin D is 200 IU for adults younger than 50 years and 600 IU for those older than 70 years. Vitamin D supplementation is especially important in elderly persons because skin synthesis and absorption of vitamin D may be impaired.
   Calcium and vitamin D intake can reduce bone fracture.

Calcium side effects
The most common adverse effects of calcium supplements are constipation, intestinal bloating and excess gas. Adverse effects occur most frequently with calcium carbonate. Switching preparations or increasing fluid intake may relieve symptoms. Patients who form calcium-containing stones are generally advised not to take calcium supplements. However, a low intake of calcium can aggravate the risk of stone formation by increasing absorption and urinary excretion of oxalate. Calcium is best taken during meals.

It's important to take the right balance of calcium and phosphorous, so your body absorbs the nutrients properly. Based on a bone mineral content study, calcium with phosphorous is five times better utilized by the body than calcium carbonate. Enzymatic Therapy's Calcium gives you more calcium and vitamin D than drinking 3 glasses of whole milk, without the fat and calories. It's the easy way to keep your bones healthy and strong.
Osteoporosis affects middle-aged and older persons. A lifetime of regular exercise and a healthy diet that includes calcium builds and maintain good bone health and may reduce the risk of osteoporosis late in life. Daily intakes above 2,000 mg are not likely to provide any additional benefits to bone health.

From Supplement Research Update newsletter - reprinted with permission
Did you see this worrisome headline in the news recently? "Older women who take calcium supplements to maintain bone strength may have an increased risk of heart attack." Researchers at the University of Auckland in New Zealand evaluated 1,400 healthy post-menopausal women for a period of five years. Half were given a daily calcium supplement and half were given a placebo. Participants received either 1 gram of elemental calcium daily as the citrate (Citracal) or identical placebo. They were asked to take two tablets (each containing 200 mg calcium) before breakfast and three in the evening. After five years, to their surprise, the researchers found heart attacks were more common in the women taking the calcium supplements.
   Comments: Many women take calcium supplements to prevent osteoporosis. Calcium supplements elevate blood calcium levels possibly accelerating vascular calcification. Doctors and patients are now presented with a very difficult challenge. At what level of calcium supplement intake do the benefits of osteoporosis prevention or treatment outweigh the possible risks of kidney stones and heart attacks? I would like to see a few more studies regarding the role of calcium supplements and heart attack rate. Perhaps the results of this study were a fluke and other studies may not find the same association. Assuming that there is such an association, recommending calcium supplements for post menopausal women for osteoporosis prevention becomes quite difficult. I don't have absolute answers on this issue, but, for the time being, a reasonable balance would be to reduce one's calcium intake from supplements. If you are taking 1,200 mg a day, you may wish to drop to 800 or 1,000 mg. If you are taking 800 a day, you may wish to drop to 600 mg. Discuss with your doctor and both of you could come to a mutually satisfying decision regarding the appropriate dosage in your particular case. Different doctors and scientists are likely to have different interpretations and suggestions.

Calcium supplement benefit and interactions
Q. Does Calcium and Magnesium have to be taken at night as the last thing before bed for them to be absorbed into the body?   I have read this in many
articles and I need to know for sure.
   A. Calcium and magnesium can be taken any time of day. They don't have to be taken at night.

Q. Can you tell me about calcium glucarate?
   A. See calcium d glucarate info here. Calcium-d-glucarate is a calcium product used not for osteoporosis but for toxin metabolism.

Q. I take a calcium 600 mg tablet daily and drink chamomile herbal tea in the evening. I am now near menopause and considering taking chaste berry herb for help in treating symptoms of menopause and taking tongkat ali herb for sexual improvement. I just wonder if I will be taking too many supplements that may interact with each other.
   A. The best way to find out is to take each one separately for a week or so and then gradually combine them in low dosages.

Q. I take cat's claw herb for arthritis symptoms and cayenne herb which I think helps with mucus in my lungs by I am not sure. If I take a chitosan tablet, would that interfere with calcium supplement absorption? I take a calcium carbonate product.
   A. A chitosan supplement is supposed to be a fat inhibitor and we doubt it will interfere with calcium tablet absorption, but just to be on the safe side you can take them at different times of the day.

Would the swallowing of a calcium supplement along with yohimbe herb interfere with the absorption of the herbal product?
   We don't think so.

I have Cervical Dystonia/ Spasmodic Torticollis. Recently I've been constipated and bloated. I've had this disease 6 years now. I thought it would help to take vitamin D and calcium and it has. Works on teeth too. I'm 53 yrs old. A friend told me the calcium might be causing it. I do not want to take laxatives every day to go. It's not good for you. Not at my age anyway. Any treatment advice?
    Prune juice and psyllium fiber are good options for constipation.