Question:
A question about Calcium Citrate
I bought a bottle of "Spring Valley Calcium-Citrate" at Walmart. It has 400 I.U. of Vitamin D and 630 mg of Calcium. They suggest 2 tablets a day. I'm afraid that this is a waste of money as it may "pass through" me before it is absorbed. Also, do these do better with or without food. I had a bone density test in January and I'm just barely in the "beginning of osteoporosis". (I'm not surprised as I've been a heavy pop drinker all my life... never drank water). Anyway I'm wondering if the calcium may help, and how much to take and with or without food. Thanks. — Danmark (posted on July 15, 2002)
July 15, 2002
I don't have an answer for you, but I'm glad you asked it because those are
the calcium pills I am taking. I have been taking 4 a day, but at 3 1/2
weeks post op, I have trouble swallowing them even cut in half. Is there a
smaller calcium citrate around??
— MaryBeth R.
July 15, 2002
The calcium SHOULD help. What did the doc say about it at the time of your
test? You don't have to take it with food. I get mine from vitalady.com.
They are capsuls, 500mg each. (calcium citrate)I take 3/day. They are kinda
big but go down VERY easily. I have NEVER had a problem with them. They
dissolve in your pouch in seconds. I think they are great! Good luck to
you.
— Kim B.
July 15, 2002
I am so glad you asked this question! I need a smaller caplet of Calcium
Citrate too. The one I am taking is so big and it is called ultradense
Citracal Plus with magnesium. It hurts my throat it is so big. I was
thinking of ordering some of the chewable wafers from Twinlab. They have
them at vitacost.com and pretty cheap. Anybody tried them?
— Marilyn C.
July 15, 2002
You can absorb 500 mgs. at a time. Different docs want you taking
different amounts. Some say 1500mg, some say 2000mg (or 2 gr). I prefer
the capsules that have 500mg. a piece so I don't have to swallow so many
pills. Citrical has only 250 a caplet. Vitalady's has 500! And they do
go down easy. Don't take with iron. I don't always take mine with food,
but I do try to get most of them in, broken up in a few hours time, in the
afternoon/evening/night time b/c they are more bioavailable during those
times.
— Cheri M.
July 15, 2002
My nutritionist recommends Citrical with vitamin D - you have to take 5
throughout the day, but they dissolve in liquid making them easy to take!
— jen41766
July 15, 2002
GNC sells a Calcium Citrate that is made by twinlabs that is a chewable.
~Ang~
— angel_wls
July 15, 2002
The calcium you are taking are 630mg per PAIR of pills, so you'd need 4
pairs per day to be at about 2000mg. I don't know why calcium products are
so confusingly labeled! Makes me crazy as they even fool ME sometimes.
— vitalady
July 15, 2002
Michelle, Thank you so much for pointing that out! I usually catch things
like that and did'nt this time. I'd rather go to chewable anyway, so when
these are gone I'll try something else. ;)
— Danmark
July 16, 2002
Daniel, I have always hated taking pills so the thought of having to take 4
or 5 a day to get in my calcium wasn't going to work for me. I found
something better, a liquid calcium citrate. You can order it online
at:www.tropicaloasis.com. Look under calcium. Its a white creamy liquid
that tastes like bitter orange. 1 tablespoon a day is all you need, but
you need to break it up to 3 teaspoons as our bodies can only absorb so
much at one time.
— Cindy R.
July 16, 2002
I use vita4life, they absorb super fast and are normal size.
— sara J.
July 16, 2002
I use capsules of 500 mg calcium citrate + magnesium and vitamin D
(Nature's Science brand from bodybuilding.com--about $5.00 for 60
capsules). I only have to take 2 per day (one in the morning and one in the
afternoon) to get my 1000 mg per day. They are very easy to swallow--not
too big and smooth so they don't catch in my throat. I eat lots of
cheese/cottage cheese and drink calcium fortified orange juice so I only
take 1000 mg. If I didn't eat good calcium in my diet I would probably take
1500 mg in three doses.<p>Calcium citrate does not have to be taken
with food to be absorbed. The reason you hear to take calcium with food is
that the carbonate type needs increased stomach acid to be absorbed--not
gonna happen for us anyway which is why we take the citrate. =)
— ctyst
July 16, 2002
I've tried Twinlab's Chewable and I prefer to take my pills after disolving
them in water! Twinlab's Chewable's have a sweet tart taste and I don't
really care for it. I also dissolve my Centrum. (I hope that is ok.) Per
my nutritionist, you don't have to take calcium pills with food.
— Lisa N M.
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