When it comes to supplements, not all Calcium is created equal and you often get what you pay for. But if you know what you’re looking for, you can get an effective Calcium supplement at a fair price.
Here’s what to look for:
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Steer away from cheaper, harder to absorb forms of Calcium
There are a lot of different forms of calcium on the market, but not all forms are absorbed by the body in the same way. Some forms of calcium require special conditions in the gut to be absorbed, while other forms are taken up efficiently, no matter the situation. Cheaper forms of calcium such as carbonate and phosphate may not be as efficiently absorbed as other forms, such as citrate.
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Look for Citrate – the most highly absorbable form of Calcium
Calcium Citrate is calcium combined with citric acid. Calcium requires an acidic environment in order to be efficiently absorbed. The citric acid provides this optimum acidic environment allowing you to get much more out of your calcium supplement.
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Look for higher “bioavailable” Calcium
Whilst you need to absorb your calcium in the first place – you also need it to be available to be used by your body. This is called “Bioavailability” and it benefits you by getting nutrients to be used more efficiently.
Calcium Citrate has a higher bioavailability because it is absorbed more efficiently.
This means more of your calcium is getting to the places that it needs to go – to support bone health, muscle contraction and healthy blood clotting.
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Choose capsule Calcium, not tablet
In traditional tablet forms there are many added binding agents. This means that your calcium may not be as readily available for you to absorb. By contrast, capsule format calcium has less of these added ingredients making it more readily available for absorption.
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Make your Calcium convenient to take
The very best kind of calcium is the one you remember to take.
So go easy on yourself. Take the hassle out of constantly going to the store. Make sure that you never run out and your calcium is always on-hand, ready to take each day.
Make sure that it is fresh - so you don’t waste money throwing out-of-date capsules away.