Resorting to Supplementary Solutions
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Wow. I apologize. I’ve really let everyone down this week, with an average of only 54% calcium in my diet. I’d like to blame it on being stuck at the Logan Airport Hilton outside Boston for three days at a conference, with no dining option other than Connolly’s – a hotel restaurant with crappy food and ridiculously high prices. True, I enjoyed my first White Russian in years, but something makes me think that changing from wine to cream and vodka drinks won’t be the most nutritious solution.
This is the time when I start thinking a calcium supplement is the way to go. It isn’t easy to always get the recommended amount of calcium through food (and drink), or even, on weeks when I ‘m away from home and my own kitchen, half of what I should be taking in. But now the issue is – which supplement? A quick check of the shelf at my local CVS turned up about a dozen different options, and the GNC website offers 17 types. Coral calcium, calcium citrate, calcium carbonate, calcium with magnesium, vegetarian calcium, vegan calcium, chocolate calcium, caramel calcium…
In an online answer form the Mayo Clinic, the quick answer is that I should take whatever has the amount of “elemental calcium” best suited to my needs. Elemental calcium designates how much calcium is in the supplement, not the overall weight of the pill (which includes what it’s combined with – citrate, carbonate, etc.). Determining the elemental calcium rate is similar to looking for how much calcium is in food at the grocery store – check out the nutrition facts label for amount of calcium per serving (this will also help you determine how many of each pill you’d have to take per day).
Oh, and just as I was about to jump for the calcium-infused chocolate treats, I found this note that tempered the fun: chocolate contains something called oxalate, which inhibits one’s body’s calcium absorption. Only a little bit, but still. Why does everything calcium-related come with a hitch?
