Best Calcium Supplement?

Posted by SRKONA @trixie5141, Apr 22 7:20am

Which is the best type of calcium supplement? I've been taking calcium citrate (Citracal) which I understand is more easily absorbed than calcium carbonate (Caltrate). Most recently I've been hearing about calcium phosphate as an alternative. I like that it is available as a powder and may be less constipating than calcium citrate but it seems that is calcium phosphate is more for pets. Your thoughts?

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Sorry left out the word Calcium!

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@sonodeka

I asked a similar question to a nutritionist on another osteo forum. I asked about bioavailability of calcium, and whether we should be compensating for that in our calculations. She said no, but that she advises people to choose foods that have higher calcium bioavailability. Here's the chart she posted:
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-nutrition/chapter/12-22-calcium-bioavailability/
When I first started researching in January, I was super distressed by the antinutrient info and felt very limited by it. Now I try to be more measured. The stress was counterproductive.
I do aim for a wide variety of plant based sources, especially those with high bioavailability. I eat less spinach, much as I love it. I will not give up almonds...
All the foods with "antinutrients" still have a lot of nutritional value.
I'm grappling now with the concept of food acidity, another whole set of issues to navigate.

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Dear sonodeka:

Thank you for that chart! I will be referring to it regularly. I am pleasantly surprised to see that there are some leafy greens with OK-calcium availability and maybe if they are boiled or pressure cooked it would help even more or maybe not…. I realize the chart doesn’t say anything about how most of the foods are prepared except for the almonds which are roasted.

It’s interesting that tofu and soy milk which are enriched with calcium still provide a decent amount of calcium. I don’t know about the phytates situation as phytates interfere with other mineral absorption as well. I have mostly eaten a plant based diet which is probably one reason why I now have osteoporosis as I never got enough protein especially after age 25.

I would love to have more information about calcium and other nutrients availability if you come across any more helpful charts….

I always hoped that soaked and sprouted nuts, seeds, and legumes would have some available/absorbable protein, minerals, and vitamins.

Yes, all the foods with ”anti nutrients” still have a lot of nutritional value and maybe moderation is the key. I’ve already been down the acid/alkaline rabbit hole and sort of gave up…. I suspect there is something there but maybe once again it’s a matter of moderation, balance, and variety.

Thanks again for sharing.🙏

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@trixiegirl

Dear sonodeka:

Thank you for that chart! I will be referring to it regularly. I am pleasantly surprised to see that there are some leafy greens with OK-calcium availability and maybe if they are boiled or pressure cooked it would help even more or maybe not…. I realize the chart doesn’t say anything about how most of the foods are prepared except for the almonds which are roasted.

It’s interesting that tofu and soy milk which are enriched with calcium still provide a decent amount of calcium. I don’t know about the phytates situation as phytates interfere with other mineral absorption as well. I have mostly eaten a plant based diet which is probably one reason why I now have osteoporosis as I never got enough protein especially after age 25.

I would love to have more information about calcium and other nutrients availability if you come across any more helpful charts….

I always hoped that soaked and sprouted nuts, seeds, and legumes would have some available/absorbable protein, minerals, and vitamins.

Yes, all the foods with ”anti nutrients” still have a lot of nutritional value and maybe moderation is the key. I’ve already been down the acid/alkaline rabbit hole and sort of gave up…. I suspect there is something there but maybe once again it’s a matter of moderation, balance, and variety.

Thanks again for sharing.🙏

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The chart is pretty useful, though I agree not fully informative. I will pass on anything helpful I come across.
I, too, have wondered how my best diet choices of the past might have influenced my current bone loss. I guess we're at the point of "when you know better, do better," and carry on. I'm also not taking the acid/ alkaline stuff so much to heart. It all gets a bit crazy-making. Nutrition is so complex.
I agree that moderation, balance and variety are likely the best path forward!
Let's enjoy our good meals today 🙂

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@sonodeka

The chart is pretty useful, though I agree not fully informative. I will pass on anything helpful I come across.
I, too, have wondered how my best diet choices of the past might have influenced my current bone loss. I guess we're at the point of "when you know better, do better," and carry on. I'm also not taking the acid/ alkaline stuff so much to heart. It all gets a bit crazy-making. Nutrition is so complex.
I agree that moderation, balance and variety are likely the best path forward!
Let's enjoy our good meals today 🙂

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Amen!😊

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I am looking into Osteo Sustain and OsteoStim because right now I am taking way too many supplements. I feel like I pop pills all day long. I emailed Dr. McCormick asking if I would need a general multi if I took both of these supplements but no response as of yet. Do you also take a multi as well? What other supplements do you take along with the Osteo Sustain?

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@trixiegirl

What is confusing to me is that I can think I have consumed the best amount of protein and calcium from my food (and I much prefer getting what my bones need from what I am eating) but then there are all the other foods that can interfere with absorption of that calcium. So then I wonder how much of it is going to help my bones? Did the osteo course cover managing anti nutrients one might consume in a daily diet—nuts, greens, soy, etc.? I know food prep (boiling, soaking, sprouting, fermenting..) helps but then again one wonders.

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I agree that this is so confusing. I ate a plant-based diet 90% of the time and was woefully negligent on consuming the proper amounts of calcium and protein. Now I find out about antinutrients and everything I have been eating (beans, nuts, whole grains) interfere with calcium absorption. Yikes. If I remove all that food in my diet, I really don't know what else to eat. Regarding beans, most times I use canned beans and I read somewhere that canned beans are already cooked and processed (through canning) therefore antinutrients are minimal. But then again maybe they're not? I started eating cheese everyday for a food-based calcium source and found that my arthritis has flared-up significantly since. I wish there was an osteoporosis diet designed for optimal absorption of minerals and supplements. All these various recommendations are absolutely nerve-wracking: Don't take calcium and magnesium together, Don't take Vitamin D and Vitamin K together, etc. It's like a fulltime job trying to figure out what I'm going to eat, when I'm going to eat it, and how to space my supplements for maximum absorption.

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The studies re AlaeCal and dexa scan scores are significant.

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@doreenc

I agree that this is so confusing. I ate a plant-based diet 90% of the time and was woefully negligent on consuming the proper amounts of calcium and protein. Now I find out about antinutrients and everything I have been eating (beans, nuts, whole grains) interfere with calcium absorption. Yikes. If I remove all that food in my diet, I really don't know what else to eat. Regarding beans, most times I use canned beans and I read somewhere that canned beans are already cooked and processed (through canning) therefore antinutrients are minimal. But then again maybe they're not? I started eating cheese everyday for a food-based calcium source and found that my arthritis has flared-up significantly since. I wish there was an osteoporosis diet designed for optimal absorption of minerals and supplements. All these various recommendations are absolutely nerve-wracking: Don't take calcium and magnesium together, Don't take Vitamin D and Vitamin K together, etc. It's like a fulltime job trying to figure out what I'm going to eat, when I'm going to eat it, and how to space my supplements for maximum absorption.

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doreenc, I agree with all your comments. If you ever find a osteoporosis diet please post it!

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@doreenc

I am looking into Osteo Sustain and OsteoStim because right now I am taking way too many supplements. I feel like I pop pills all day long. I emailed Dr. McCormick asking if I would need a general multi if I took both of these supplements but no response as of yet. Do you also take a multi as well? What other supplements do you take along with the Osteo Sustain?

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After a couple of confusing months I decided to simplify by taking Osteo Sustain and Osteo Stim, each 3 x day. Osteo Sustain is sort of a multi. Of course once I began and had the nutrients all combined I started wishing I could tease them apart... Even though there is only about 160 mg Calcium per tablet, sometimes I don't need it. So now I do a combination of supplements, some meals Sustain, other meals just a K2 supplement. I take the Stim about twice a day- it is pricy. Somewhere in the day I add a B complex, some extra D and maybe Omega 3...
Not too scientific.
Also Fortibone collagen every day. Doing my best to eat a lot of greens and protein
every day, including
some whey protein powder to up that amount. Hoping that by throwing all this at the bones, plus a ton of strengthening exercise, I can make a difference or at least cap losses.

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@leeosteo

doreenc, I agree with all your comments. If you ever find a osteoporosis diet please post it!

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I, too, have been struggling mightily to get enough calcium via food, while trying to figure out how to make sure that it is absorbed. I wish we could find a dietician who was an expert in this field. I have idiopathic hypercalciuria (high urine calcium with no known cause), but I am not a stone former. So the advice from kidney specialists to pair oxalate foods with dairy doesn't really fit. And then there's phytic acid and other anti nutrients to consider. Makes figuring out what to eat kind of stressful.

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