Friday, February 19, 2010

Guide To Calcium Supplements

Happy Friday Bloggers!

From all of us at http://www.FloridaHerbHouse.com/ and http://www.SharpWebLabs.com/ we hope your enjoy another one of our informative blogs. This blog will contain plenty of information about various mineral supplements and using them. We highly suggest that one choose a liquid mineral supplement when deciding as the absorption is as much as four fold better than that of capsules and tablet form mineral supplements. We always have in on sale and in stock our liquid calcium available in 16oz and 32oz bottles.

So how about calcium? Do we need a calcium supplement? How much should we take? Are there any precautions? What is calcium? Lets get started!

Calcium is a critical nutrient which makes up approximately 1kg of the average adult's body weight. Over 99 per cent of calcium in the body is stored in the bones and teeth with the remaining one per cent stored in the blood and cellular fluids..

The body stores the calcium in two ways:

- one way is an exchangeable pool which allows the calcium tobe released into the blood stream when dietary intake is low
- the remainder of the calcium is stored in an non-exchangeable reserve in the bones.

The Dietary Reference Intake DRI for calcium for adults is 1000mg - 1300mg depending on age and gender. As one serving of dairy product provides ~300mg of calcium, those who do not consume enough calcium from food sources may need calcium supplements to meet their daily requirement.

Quoted from Dr. Weil:
"For women who don’t think they are getting enough of these foods, I recommend a supplement of 500 to 700 mg daily in divided doses with meals. Women concerned about osteoporosis should be aware that supplemental calcium alone will not correct the problem, which is related to heredity, lifestyle and diet, and is accelerated by hormonal changes at menopause. Weight-bearing aerobic exercise (walking, jogging or aerobics) and weight lifting should be part of your prevention program. Because high protein diets also cause bones to lose calcium, keep your daily protein intake low (limit it to no more than 10 to 15 percent of total calories). Avoid soda, excessive caffeine intake, and smoking, all of which promote calcium loss in the urine. An adequate daily intake of calcium (1,000-1,200 mg) along with magnesium and potassium works to control blood pressure by helping to regulate the amount of sodium your body retains. Most of us get all the potassium we need from fresh fruits (especially bananas) and vegetables. (Don’t take potassium supplements unless a doctor has prescribed them.) Taking too much calcium (three to four times the usual dose) can lead to such side effects as constipation, dry mouth, a continuing headache, increased thirst, irritability, loss of appetite, depression, a metallic taste in the mouth, and fatigue."

Calcium is absorbed in small intestines. Not all calcium we consume will be absorbed. The amount of calcium absorbed is dependent on a number of factors such as the acidic condition in our intestines, Vitamin D level, estrogen level and the type of calcium supplement.

Different Types of Calcium Supplements
One important factor affecting calcium absorption is how well the pill dissolves. Try buying calcium pills of US Pharmacopeia's standards. The "USP" on the label indicates that the calcium pill meets the USP standards of supplying adequate elemental calcium and how well it dissolves in our intestines.

Calcium Citrate e.g. Citracal or Solgar: Calcium is best absorbed in an acidic environment, hence calcium citrate is the best absorbed supplemental form of calcium. It does not require extra stomach acid for absorption; hence we may take it anytime in a day, even on an empty stomach. However Calcium Citrate usually provides less elemental calcium per pill, therefore one may need to take a relatively more numbers of pills per day depending to the needs. Cautions: people with acid reflux may not be able to tolerate calcium citrate

Calcium Carbonate e.g. Tums or Caltrate: Most calcium pills in the market are in the form of calcium carbonate. It requires extra stomach acid for better absorption, hence it is best taken after meals.

Dolomite, Bone Meal or Oyster Shell: These naturally occurring calcium pills may contain heavy metal or lead. At the moment, calcium supplements are not tested by any regulatory agency for lead content. Therefore, it's best to avoid.

Calcium Gluconate and Calcium Lactate: These types of calcium pills contain low content of elemental calcium. Hence, one may need to take a large amount of tablets to meet the calcium requirement!

Coral Calcium: This type of calcium is marketed for more than bone health. Its infomercial claimed that it can cure 200 human diseases. It's indeed only Calcium Carbonate. Beware of these scams!

A big question is--can we take too much calcium? Here is what two scientist-doctors told Lancet, the British Medical Journal on May 19, 2001* " ...Excess calcium supplementation will ...slow the natural turnover of bone." Bone naturally reduces density as we age, and builds anew. This is bone turnover.

They continued, "'aged bone is at risk of 'small fractures. Calcium intakes of 1 to 1.5 grams daily, commonly recommended for postmenopausal women, are associated with an increased rather than a decreased risk of fracture.

".... International rates of hip fractures are higher in countries where calcium consumption is high."

On Sale Liquid Calcium:
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