is it safe to take Ca supplements

[youngman]

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i read one nutrition book a while ago, it says that it is better to drink milk, eat cheeze, etc rather than taking those Ca supplement?

i wonder if it is true?

 

[ib508]

Well, it's generally better to eat "natural" products than take supplements, but hey, can't be perfect all the time, but I don't think that makes them "unsafe"...

i read one nutrition book a while ago, it says that it is better to drink milk, eat cheeze, etc rather than taking those Ca supplement?

i wonder if it is true?

 

[shocker]

Not to say anything you don't already know, but if you get the Ca++ supplement, get the ones with Vitamin D included.

 

[jennie 21]

It's probably better to get Ca from milk, cheese, etc. because the absorption tends to be better if it comes from food. But taking supplements is safe and a fine way of getting Ca also, if you just don't like dairy products or can't tolerate them due to lactose intolerance. I think the RDA for calcium for adults is 1000 mg a day...for women, it might be 1200 mg, I can't remember for sure. So if you take calcium supplements, just don't exceed that amount, and you should be fine. I know if you take A LOT more calcium than you're supposed to (like 2000 mg a day or more) for a long period of time it can give you problems, but as long as you stick to the recommended amount it should be safe.

 

[closertofine]

This thread brought something to mind for me...I have some chewable calcium supplements (a generic Viactiv, I think), but I haven't taken them in a pretty long while. Up until a month or so ago, I had been drinking milk or eating dairy products at least once or twice a day...but lately I seem to have developed some problems digesting dairy, so I've been avoiding it totally.

So I think I should probably go back to taking the supplements...but my question is, is it really possible (or likely) that a person in her mid-20s could be Ca-deficient? And if so, would this be likely to lead to major problems (i.e. osteoporosis) down the road?

I'm guessing that the short answer might be "yes," but it's still kind of hard to imagine that I could be starting down the road to osteoporosis at my age. Hopefully not, though!

 

[lilmo]

just wanted to point out that there are lots of good sources of calcium besides dairy products. tofu, soymilk, fortified cereals, etc.

 

[Mossjoh]

Careful taking to much calcium..it tends to precipitate in the kidneys...and KIDNEY STONES HURT!!!

 

[youngman]

Careful taking to much calcium..it tends to precipitate in the kidneys...and KIDNEY STONES HURT!!!

That is something that i am concerned about. the supplement that i am taking is like 50 or 60% daily recommended dose. however, i read it somewhere if one takes too much calcium, it will get deposited in organs, etc.

to answer someone else's question on here,I think that i was told in class or read in some books, a young person should take more Ca to store up in the bones. when one gets older, the bone will start to lose calcium, and the calcium absorption will also decrese. So it is recommended young people to take lots of calcium to prevent old age osteoprosis, etc.

 

[futoi]

That is something that i am concerned about. the supplement that i am taking is like 50 or 60% daily recommended dose. however, i read it somewhere if one takes too much calcium, it will get deposited in organs, etc.

to answer someone else's question on here,I think that i was told in class or read in some books, a young person should take more Ca to store up in the bones. when one gets older, the bone will start to lose calcium, and the calcium absorption will also decrese. So it is recommended young people to take lots of calcium to prevent old age osteoprosis, etc.

your body can only absorb something like 500-600mg of calcium at a time. so, if you're going to supplement you need to space out your doses. too much calcium, in a normal person (one without kidney dysfunction), gets excreted through the kidneys. too much vitamin d, however can have consequences, being a fat soluble vitamin and it can accumulate. most people don't need to supplement that much vitamin d. your body makes it when your skin is exposed to the sun.

building up bone density when you're young is a good idea, or at least that's the current thought. they're looking at heading off osteoporosis by making people's bones more dense, so if they lose some, it won't be tragic. but, density's not the only factor. architecture of the bone also plays a part. some people have perfectly normal density, but still fracture easily due to poor architecture...

 

[youngman]

so it seems that it doesn't matter if you drink milk or take supplements, you still have a chance of overdose yourself with vit. D and calcium? i still don't see the difference b/w taking supplements or drink lots of milk?

 

[doctor7]

so it seems that it doesn't matter if you drink milk or take supplements, you still have a chance of overdose yourself with vit. D and calcium? i still don't see the difference b/w taking supplements or drink lots of milk?

if you were lactose intolerant you would. 😛

 

[youngman]

well, other than lactose problem, it seems that it is not ok to load yourself with Ca supplements daily, but it is ok to drink lots of milk, cheese, etc daily?

that is the thing that makes me wonder.