Arguably, calcium is one of the most important minerals you should take in order to maintain good health and ensure you remain healthy in the future. As one of the most abundant minerals in the body, the majority is located in the bones and the teeth. Calcium is an essential mineral that is required to build bones and teeth and is also needed for proper blood clotting, nerve function, and muscle contraction. But most of us recognize calcium for the role it plays in possibly preventing the onset of osteoporosis.

The amount of calcium in your blood is regulated by PTH (parathyroid hormone). When not receiving enough calcium, your levels of PTH increase whereby causing the body to experience hypertension. High levels of calcium in the body have been associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women and lower cholesterol levels.

Studies also indicate that calcium may help to prevent colon cancer, a killer of many older men. However, this finding has not been substantiated.

Which Form of Calcium Should I Take?

One of the largest factors to consider when choosing which calcium is best is the percentage of elemental calcium present. A greater percentage of elemental calcium means that fewer tablets are needed to achieve the desired calcium intake. For instance, in the calcium carbonate form, calcium accounts for 40% of the compound, while the calcium citrate form provides 24% elemental calcium.

For people concerned about cost and only willing to swallow two to three calcium pills per day, calcium carbonate is a great choice. Even for these people, however, low-quality calcium carbonate supplements are less than ideal. Depending on how the tablet is manufactured, some calcium carbonate pills have been found to disintegrate and dissolve improperly, which could interfere with absorption. The disintegration of calcium carbonate pills can be easily evaluated by putting a tablet in a half cup of vinegar and stirring occasionally. After half an hour, no un-dissolved chunks of tablet should remain at the bottom.

Calcium carbonate may not always show optimal absorption, but it clearly has positive effects. For example, calcium carbonate appears to be absorbed as well as the calcium found in milk. In fact, some studies indicate that calcium carbonate is absorbed as well as most other forms besides calcium citrate/malate (CCM).

For people willing to take more pills to achieve a given amount of calcium, typically 800-1,000 mg, calcium carbonate does not appear to be the optimal choice because other forms have been reported to be absorbed better; however, they do require more pills per day because each pill contains less calcium. For this reason, some doctors recommend other forms of calcium, particularly CCM. However, CCM is not the only form of calcium that might be absorbed better than carbonate.

Microcrystalline hydroxyapatite (MCHC) has attracted attention of many medical practitioners and supplement users because of studies reporting increases in bone mass in people with certain conditions and better effects on bone than calcium carbonate. However, unlike CCM, MCHC has only in very few instances been compared with other forms of calcium.

Recently, coral calcium has been claimed to be a vastly superior form of calcium even though its calcium content is primarily calcium carbonate. One small, controlled human study reported that coral calcium was better absorbed than ordinary calcium carbonate. There is little scientific evidence at this time supporting that coral calcium is superior to other forms of calcium.

Whatever form of calcium supplementation you select, calcium typically is absorbed better when eaten with food. Research also indicates that taking calcium with meals may reduce the risk of kidney stones, and supplementing with calcium between meals might actually increase the risk.

Dosage

The National Academy of Sciences has established guidelines for calcium that are 25-50% higher than previous recommendations. For ages 20 to 50, calcium consumption is recommended to be 1,000 mg daily; for adults over age 51, the recommendation is 1,200 mg daily. The most common supplemental amount for adults is 800 to 1,000 mg per day.

Precautions

Calcium supplements should be avoided by prostate cancer patients.

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