The Best Calcium Supplement for Your Needs

Your Bones Love Calcium - But So Does the Rest of Your Body

Before we get into the best calcium supplement for your needs, let's find out why calcium is so important.

99% of your body's calcium is stored in your bones and teeth. Calcium is the most abundant and one of the most essential minerals in your body.

When most of us start thinking about the best calcium supplement to take, we are probably concerned with our bone health - but that is only partly correct.

What most of us don't realize is that our bones and teeth are not the only parts of our bodies that require calcium.

Calcium also helps us to regulate our heartbeat, aids in transmitting nerve impulses and helps our muscles to contract.

An adequate level of calcium in our bloodstream has also been shown to be a factor in reducing our blood pressure.

We need to be considering all of these systems when trying to determine the best calcium supplement for our needs.

Your Body's Calcium is Being Robbed!

The reason calcium is so critical for our bone health is that the calcium from our bones is constantly being robbed - yes robbed!

If your body's other systems mentioned above cannot find calcium in your bloodstream, then where do think they will get it? ... from your bones! And the more calcium is taken from your bones, the more porous your bones become (osteoporosis means having porous bones).

The reason to seek out the best calcium supplement is to provide your other systems with the calcium they need.

Also we want to insure that your bones have the calcium they need to be able to regenerate. Without adequate levels of calcium, we run the risk of bone loss and osteoporosis in our later years (we talk in length about osteoporosis at our benefits of Vitamin D page). 

And what is the optimum amount of calcium you should get daily?

Adolescents and adults should get between 1000 and 1200 mg. daily. Children between the ages of 1 - 8 should be getting between 500 - 800 mg. daily.

Ok, Then - So what is the Best Calcium Supplement

Two of the most commonly found calcium supplements are calcium carbonate and calcium citrate.

Calcium carbonate is a common substance found as rock in all parts of the world and is the main component of seashells and the shell of snails.

Calcium citrate is the calcium salt of citric acid. Citric acid is what gives fruits such as lemons, limes and oranges their tart taste.

Calcium carbonate is alkaline based and calcium citrate is acidic based.

Calcium carbonate needs more stomach acid to be absorbed than does calcium citrate. That is why it is recommended that calcium carbonate be taken with meals as this is when more stomach acid is produced.

Calcium citrate on the other hand does not require as much stomach acid to be absorbed and therefore is a good bet for older folks whose stomach acid production has slowed due to aging.

So what do we feel is the best calcium supplement?

Studies at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have concluded that calcium citrate is better absorbed by as much as 22 - 27% over calcium carbonate when taken with or without meals.

It is therefore logical to conclude that the younger generation will do just fine with the bioavailability of calcium carbonate supplements whereas older folks might want to consider calcium citrate supplements.

What Do We Recommend?

Most research seems to point to the best calcium supplement being taken as a healthy dose of calcium in your multivitamin. This insures that calcium and the other nutrients you are getting are working together synergistically.

Remember, even the best calcium supplement needs to be taken with Vitamin D. Without Vitamin D, calcium cannot be absorbed and therefore utilized by your body.

None other than Harvard School of Public Health weighed in by stating that the, "... intake of several vitamins above the minimum daily requirement may prevent heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, and other chronic diseases."

Also, an article appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) had this to say: "…suboptimal intake of some vitamins, above levels causing classic vitamin deficiency, is a risk factor for chronic diseases and common in the general population..."

In addition, the JAMA went on to say, "Most people do not consume an optimal amount of all vitamins by diet alone. Pending strong evidence of effectiveness from randomized trials, it appears prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements."

We've seen lots of products out there and we recommend not wasting your time or money on the mass produced, mass marketed thrift store variety multivitamins.

Most of these skimp on the amount of nutrients in their formulations and some are are just downright low quality.