12 WAYS TO BOOST YOUR CALCIUM
Various factors affect how much of the calcium you consume really gets into your blood and is utilized by the body.
Here are some things to take into considertation to make the most of the calcium in your diet or any calcium supplements you take:
1. Stress from tension and worry can decrease calcium absorption. The calcium in the diet is excreted in the urine rather than used or stored.
2. Labels on calcium supplements can be misleading. The figure that is important is the amount of elemental calcium provided by the supplement. This is the actual amount of useable calcium.
The rest of the calcium in the tablet is coupled with a salt that makes it unavailable to the body. For example, calcium glutamate is only 9 percent elemental calcium. A 500 milligram tablet of calcium glutamate may contain only 45 milligrams of elemental calcium, even though you may have been led to believe that you are taking 500 milligrams of calcium.
Calcium carbonate, on the other hand, is 40 percent elemental calcium; 500 milligrams of calcium carbonate would provide 200 milligrams of useable calcium.
Labels on some supplements make this distinction, listing both the type of calcium compound in the supplement and the amount of elemental calcium provided. Other products are not as carefully labeled. Read labels carefully and compare several brands when you shop. Also look at the price. Just because it is more expensive does not mean it is better for you.
