Which type of calcium supplements is the best?

Calcium supplement is one of the most common and popular dietary supplements taken by people nowadays, for its importance in maintaining bone health and preventing osteoporosis. The Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) for calcium for adults is 1000mg -1300mg (depending on age and gender), which is a huge amount compared to other minerals. One cup of milk (250ml) provides ~300mg of calcium, that means we need to drink 2-3 cups of milk per day in order to meet our daily requirement. Alternatively, people take calcium supplements.

Important points to consider when purchasing calcium supplements:

* Check the elemental calcium content, that is the amount of calcium in a supplement that's available for your body to absorb. Look at the Nutrition Facts label. For calcium, the Percent Daily Value (% DV) is based on 1,000 mg of elemental calcium. For example, if a calcium supplement has 60 percent of the Daily Value, it contains 600 mg of elemental calcium (0.60 x 1,000 mg = 600 mg).

* Type of calcium supplements, (calcium carbonate, citrate, gluconate, lactate...)
Calcium supplements typically contain calcium carbonate or calcium citrate. Calcium gluconate and calcium lactate are not recommended as they contain low content of elemental calcium. Hence, one may need to take a large amount of tablets to meet the calcium requirement.

# Calcium Citrate e.g. Citracal (click image for information) 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.


# Calcium Carbonate e.g. Tums or Caltrate (click image for information): Most calcium pills in the market are in the form of calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate should be taken with meals. This is because acid secreted by your stomach enhances absorption of calcium carbonate.


Calcium is absorbed most efficiently by the body when it is taken in amounts of 500 milligrams (mg) or less. If you take 1,000 mg of calcium a day, split it in two or more doses over the course of the day. Bear in mind that 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. Most calcium supplements in the market now contain vitamin D to enhance its absorption.

Read more on calcium supplements.