For those of you needing to take a daily calcium supplementation to either prevent or reverse Osteoporosis and Osteopenia, there is a subtle but important difference between these 2 main types of calcium available in the marketplace, calcium carbonate and calcium citrate.
The main difference between these 2 is that you need significant levels of stomach acid to absorb the calcium carbonate but not calcium citrate.
Calcium carbonate tends to be less expensive but MUST be taken with meals because the large amounts of gastric acid produced when we eat is necessary to proper absorption of calcium carbonate.
There is evidence that calcium carbonate is poorly absorbed when an individual is regularily taking a potent antacid such as Nexium, Prilosec, Protonix or Prevacid for heartburn or reflux disease. These medications are so effective at blocking acid production that not much acid is produced even during meals and therefore you won’t absorb calcium carbonate.
Calcium Citrate doesn’t require stomach acid for absorption so it is probably the best to take if you have trouble remembering to take the calcium during a meal or if you are also taking one of the potent antacids listed above.
The calcium that is available in foods comes in a variety of forms which are all generally well absorbed because the food they are contained within will also produce the necessary stomach acid – although, again, this may not hold true for those of you on the potent antacids.
So if in doubt about the which calcium you need, I’d suggest going with calcium citrate to insure you absorb it correctly.
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