Calcium Supplements for Women
Calcium is a very important mineral necessary for a human body to perform various body functions like regulation of the heartbeat. It helps in blood clotting, stimulation of secretion of body hormones, and movement of nerve impulses. Apart from these functions calcium is a vital mineral required to build and maintain a healthy skeleton.
How Do You Get Calcium?
Calcium is a common mineral found in many foods. You need to take adequate calcium in the form of calcium supplements as human body cannot produce calcium by itself. Moreover, your body loses calcium through many forms like shed skin, hair and nails. Also, you excrete calcium through sweat, urine and feces. Normally, your body takes the lost calcium through the diet. In case your diet does not provide sufficient calcium, your body takes it from your bones, where it is stored.
Calcium Requirements
For adults under 50 years of age the adequate daily intake of calcium is 1,000 mg. For those who are aged above 50, the amount of daily calcium intake is 1.200 mg. If you take more than the adequate calcium it may be harmful to your health. Your daily intake of calcium should not cross more than 2,500 mg. In case you take in more calcium, you may need to face adverse effects of calcium like formation of kidney stones and other kidney complications. Also, you have to face other related complications of high blood calcium levels.
Taking Calcium Supplements
Though food is the major source of calcium, it is always not sufficient to meet the calcium needs of your body. So, in such cases, after taking the advice the expert physician you need to take calcium-fortified foods and calcium supplements to meet the daily calcium requirements of your body. The amount of calcium you need to take through these additional sources depends on how much you get through the food sources.
You can get calcium only in the forms of compounds - calcium combined with other substances. The common calcium forms are - calcium carbonate, calcium citrate and calcium phosphate. All these compounds have elemental calcium in certain amounts, which is the actual amount of calcium in the supplement. You have to read the label to know how much amount of calcium the calcium supplement contains, and accordingly plan your dosage. You can know the amount of elemental calcium you can get through a supplement by simply reading the Nutrition Facts label.
Your body can easily absorb most of the branded calcium products. The best forms of calcium supplements are - chewable and liquid - because they are broken down before they enter into your stomach. Consume calcium in amounts of 500 mg or less several times a day, than taking all at once. Calcium carbonate supplement is absorbed well when taken along with food. You can take calcium citrate anytime.
Side Effects of Calcium Supplements
Though calcium supplements are a healthy option for everyone, certain preparations can cause various side effects like gas or constipation. In such cases, you can avoid the side effects of calcium supplements by various simple ways like increased fluids and fiber intake. If such measures do not show better effect, then try another form of calcium supplement. Also, don’t forget that you should increase the supplement intake gradually. Initially, take 500 mg a day for one week. Later add more calcium slowly.
Remember These Things While Taking Calcium Supplements
When you are taking iron supplement, you should not take in calcium supplement as it interferes with iron absorption. The only exception to this is - iron supplement taken along with vitamin C or calcium nitrate. You should not take in calcium supplements along with any medications which need to be taken in empty stomach.
Vitamin D is necessary for your body to absorb calcium. However, it is not necessary that the calcium supplement contains Vitamin D. The adequate daily intake o Vitamin D3 is – for adults under age 50 - 400-800 IU and for adults aged 50 and older - 800 – 1,000 IU. Vitamin D3 is one form of vitamin D that is required for bone health.