Calcium is Calcium, Right?

When I started at Palmer Chiropractic College in 1981, one of the classes in my second quarter was Nutrition.  Dr. Ansari was from India, educated in England, and very knowledgeable about a variety of topics.  One of the things he talked about was calcium absorption.

The calcium ion (Ca++) is necessary for nerves to carry an impulse and for muscles to relax after contraction.  While it exists as an ion in the bloodstream, it can only be ingested into the body bonded to another ion as a molecule or chemical compound.  The most common forms are as calcium carbonate (known as bone calcium, or oyster shell calcium, or coral calcium, or limestone), calcium citrate (found in citrus juice), and calcium lactate (milk calcium).

Dr. Ansari taught that Vitamin D was essential for calcium, in any form, to be absorbed from the intestines.  Beyond that, we learned that different types of calcium bonds were more easily broken, and therefore more preferentially collected by the body.  He said that only about one percent of the calcium carbonate was absorbed, twenty percent of calcium citrate, and that as much as fifty percent of calcium lactate could be absorbed in the gut.

Calcium carbonate is the type seen most frequently, especially in grocery stores, because it is very inexpensive to grind up limestone and press it back into tablets.  Calcium citrate is now easily obtained in many places under the trade name of Citracal®.  Calcium lactate is readily available to most who are not lactose intolerant in the form of milk – those who are lactose intolerant must look in health food stores and on the internet.

One final factor to consider is that the above-listed percentages apply only to the calcium that the body actually touches.  In a 500 milligram tablet that does not dissolve (a common occurrence – many calcium tablets pass out the other end unchanged), perhaps 50-75 milligrams on the outside of the pill might actually be available to the body, of which one percent will be absorbed. Much better alternatives are chewables, powder in capsules, or liquid forms.

The recommended daily calcium intake for the average adult is 1000 mg.  This is set high enough to insure that the combination of all the calcium we put into our bodies daily, both through food and supplements, will allow the body to absorb the maximum amount that we need. More easily absorbed combinations will allow smaller intake amounts. Calcium is constantly being lost in our sweat, urine, and bowel movements, so a constant intake is critical to keeping us alive, healthy and happy.

Getting rid of your pain,

Dr. Steven Ray, Chiropractor

Val Vista Chiropractic