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Shopping for a calcium supplement can be daunting. There literally hundreds to choose from ranging in price from
$5 to $20 or more. You can get small pills that say one-a-day, horse pills that say 2 a day, medium size pills
that say 6 a day.
In general, there are two types of calcium: soluble and insoluble. The soluble forms are calcium citrate, calcium
gluconate, and calcium lactate. The insoluble forms are bone meal, calcium carbonate, dolomite, and calcium
phosphate. While "soluble" calcium sounds easier to absorb, it is really a function of body types. "Soluble"
calcium dissolves in water, while "insoluble" calcium dissolves in an acid environment. If your body is naturally
acidic, you may absorb calcium carbonate well. Or you can boost its absorption by taking it with meals and a
glass of unsweetened orange, grapefruit, or cranberry juice. Calcium carbonate is 40% elemental calcium while
calcium citrate is only 22% elemental calcium--but statistically, most people absorb more calcium with calcium
citrate. Not sure of your body acidity? Consider the advice of Drs. Balch in Prescription for Nutritional Healing
and take a supplement that combines soluble and insoluble calcium.
But just getting the right calcium is only half the story. Calcium moves in and out of the bones as the body needs
it in a process called remodeling. Think of the bones as a calcium bank When the body takes in calcium through the
diet or otherwise has an excess of calcium the body makes a deposit in the bones. When the body needs calcium for
other things like neutralizing stomach acid it makes a withdrawal.
Vitamin D, following the analogy, is the banker that tells the body whether to make a deposit or to take a
withdrawal. So it is a good idea to take vitamin D with your calcium. But that is not enough.
Like calcium, magnesium is stored in the bones. While calcium makes the bones strong, magnesium makes them
flexible. When the magnesium in bone decreases, bone crystals become larger and more brittle, therefore
susceptible to fracture. In addition, magnesium is needed for vitamin D to be activated. Without enough
magnesium, the body doesn't know what to do with the calcium and either passes if off in the urine or stores it
in soft tissue like the kidneys (forming stones), arteries, joints, or brain.
Most experts agree that the proper relationship of calcium to magnesium in a supplement is 2 to 1. So if you
wish to supplement with 1200 mg of calcium, you would want to take 600 mg of magnesium with it. Don't be
surprised, then to find that in order to take a good soluble calcium with adequate vitamin D and magnesium,
that you are have to take 6 or 8 tablets. If you are taking less, you are probably taking an insoluble calcium
like calcium carbonate without magnesium.
Look at it this way, 1000 mg or a gram of pure calcium, would take up about the space a little smaller than a
sugar cube. Now this can be compressed a little, but the more compression, the harder it is to absorb. And
the calcium you get at the store is not pure; it is a compound. If it is an insoluble calcium like calcium
arbonate, only 40% of what you are taking is calcium. If it is an soluble calcium like calcium citrate,
only 22% is calcium. So, if you want to use a soluble form of calcium, you need 4 times as many cubes as
pure calcium. Add magnesium to the supplement and you can see why you need so many pills.
My analogy would not be complete without talking about the bank robber: soda pop. Most sodas contain phosphoric
acid to "sharpen" the flavor, a substance which, by the way, also makes people thirsty. The body neutralizes
this acid with calcium forming a very insoluble form of calcium called calcium phosphate. This calcium phosphate
is then passed out of the body through the urine. To replace this lost calcium, the body makes a withdrawal
from the bone bank. The more sodas you drink, the more withdrawals you make.
Not worried because you are young? Studies show a direct relationship between osteoporosis and the amount of
calcium women absorb between the ages of 16 and 25. The amount of calcium absorbed in youth affects not only
the propensity for the disease, but a woman's ability to absorb calcium as she ages. This is a double whammy
for girls who consume a lot of soda pop. The fact of the matter is, it is never too early to regulate calcium
absorption.
©: 2004 Chip Engelmann
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