HOW MUCH CALCIUM SUPPLEMENT DOES ONE NEED?

Are you getting enough calcium in your diet? Maybe not.  It depends on your age. According 

to the Institute of Medicine, the recommended daily amount of calcium to get is:

• 
  
• 1-3 years: 700 milligrams daily
• 
  
• 4-8 years: 1,000 milligrams daily
• 
  
• 9-18 years: 1,300 milligrams daily
• 
  
• 19-50 years: 1,000 milligrams daily
• 
  
• 51-70 years: 1,200 milligrams daily for women; 1,000 milligrams daily for men
• 
  
• 71 and older: 1,200 milligrams daily

According to a study, most get enough calcium, except for girls 9 to 18 years old. Although 

women’s recommended calcium needs to increase with menopause, post-menopausal 

woman taking supplements may also be at greater risk of getting too much calcium.

We know that peak bone mass occurs around age 30, so it's very important in childhood 

and adolescence to have a healthy intake of calcium early on. 

After age 30, we start to gradually lose bone, and that loss accelerates for women at the 

time of menopause. So it's very important to stave off bone loss with adequate calcium 

intake.

Your health care provider may recommend calcium supplements. But with so many 

choices of calcium supplements, where should you start? Here's what you need to know.

What kind of calcium supplement should you take?

Best is  to take the kind that one tolerates best and is least expensive. A Dr. recommends 

calcium carbonate because "it's inexpensive, won't cause discomfort, and is a good source 

of calcium."

Some people's bodies may have problems making enough stomach acid, or may be 

taking medications that suppress acid production. For them, a calcium citrate supplement 

might be better because it "dissolves a little better than calcium carbonate for these 

people.

Experts note that supplements that combine calcium with vitamin D -- which is essential for 

the body to appropriately absorb calcium -- provide an added benefit.

What calcium supplement dose is best?

The body can absorb only about 500 milligrams of a calcium supplement at any one time, 

 so you can't just down a 1000-mg supplement first thing in the morning and call it a day.

Instead, split your dose into two or three servings a day. "The best way to take it is, with a 

meal; calcium is absorbed better that way. If your daily diet includes calcium-containing 

foods and drinks, you may not need multiple doses.

Can you take too much calcium?

The upper limit of daily calcium for people between the ages of 19 and 50 is 2,500 

milligrams, and for those 51 and older it’s 2,000 mg.

Calcium supplements rarely cause excessive calcium levels in the bloodstream. "It 

doesn't hurt you, but it's not particularly beneficial, either.

One exception: people who have a tendency to make kidney stones. "You might make 

larger and more frequent stones with unusually high doses of calcium."

Can I skip calcium supplements and get what I need from my diet?

Yes. But it's going to take some work.

How can you tell if you're getting enough calcium? Try tracking how much you get for a 

week. "Write down what you eat for a week. Figure out how much calcium is in what you've 

eaten during that time. Then divide by seven, most probably you'll be well under 1,000 

milligrams.

Some of your best sources of dietary calcium are yoghurt (over 400 milligrams per 8-

ounce serving), non-fat milk (about 300 milligrams per serving), and cheeses like 

mozzarella and cheddar (between 275 and 315 milligrams per serving). Some dark green 

vegetables, like spinach, are fairly high in calcium as well.

Keep in mind that there's really not that much difference between getting calcium in a 

supplement and calcium in food.

Ideally, if you have a good, healthy diet, and get all your nutrients including calcium from 

that, that's best. But the calcium in food and the calcium in supplements is identical.

What would a good, calcium-rich diet look like?

If you drank a glass of milk (300 milligrams of calcium) with a calcium-fortified cereal for 

breakfast (400 milligrams of calcium), you'd get 70% of the 1,000-milligram 

recommended daily amount of calcium for an adult age 19-50 with that meal alone.

Or, you could have a carton of yoghurt (415 milligrams of calcium) with 6 ounces calcium-

fortified orange juice (250 milligrams of calcium) for a total of 665 milligrams of calcium. 

Calcium-fortified foods -- such as cereals, some juices, and soy milk -- are excellent 

sources of the mineral.

Later that day, if you add 3 ounces of canned salmon (180 milligrams of calcium) on your 

lunch salad, snack on 1.5 ounces of cheddar cheese (306 milligrams of calcium), have 

half a cup of spinach with dinner (120 milligrams of calcium), and enjoy half a cup of ice 

cream for desert (85 milligrams of calcium), you would have gotten more than enough 

calcium for an average adult. One can even add some sesame sweet balls, as then one 

can get calcium &  some iron too, black sesame seeds have 400 times more calcium 

than the white one, as black alone is difficult to eat, best is to combine black & white 

sesame seeds & use in your daily diet.

What would a good, calcium-rich diet look like? 

If you don't eat dairy products, good sources of calcium include tofu 

made with calcium sulfate (138 milligrams of calcium per half-cup 

serving); leafy dark green vegetables such as spinach, kale, or turnip 

greens; and calcium-fortified foods.

So do your best to get your calcium the tasty way. But if you can't, a 

simple, inexpensive calcium supplement can help keep your bones 

just as healthy.