How to compare relative amounts of Calcium.
I was taking TUMS** or competing house brands and for some reason I
changed to Calcium Citrate+D3. I can't remember why. Is there a good
reason?
The former says Calcium Carbonate 750mg.
My impression is that the weight of Calcium is 40, Carbon 12, and
Oxygen 16 x 3 for a total of 100. And that 40 is 40% of 100 so there is
300mg of calcium in 750mg of CaCO3. Is that right?
OTOH the second pill says 315mg of Calcium.
So it's almost the same, right?
Because I had hypoparathyroidism for a year or more several years ago,
my calcium bone density went down, osteoporosis, even in a man. And
iirc the doctor said to take Tums. But for some reason I can't remember,
I changed to calcium pills. I didn't know until I got home and opened
the bottle how big the pills are, and they seem harder and harder to
swallow. So why bother myself if I can just as well take tums.
OTOH, I suppose I could split them in two, but that takes time and they
still wouldn't taste as good as the crush-in-your-mouth tums.
Should I take the tums or the calcium pills?
I've just been taking one of the first and later one of the second, but
the second says that the Daily Value of calcium is 1000mg.
I know that includes diet, but my diet ranges wildly. I drink much less
milk than I did until I was 65 or 70. I eat beans and spinach
erratically and not very often. So maybe I should take 3 a day for 900
of the 1000 I need anyhow. Maybe I should take 4 since I'm trying to
add extra calcium.
FWIW, since my calcium was measured low maybe 4 years ago, even though I
was very careful, cautiously choosing every step, I couldn't manage to
find a way past the all-gravel parts of the path, and I fell on my rump
twice and my back once, every time very hard, at age 71, trying to walk
down a ski slope in the summer time (I had planned to take the ski-lift
back down but was forced off). Tripped on a sidewalk at age 72 and hit
my knee so hard it hurt for months. And afaik didn't break anything.
But I don't want rely on this forever.
**Don't forget that TUMS spelled backwards is SMUT.
OTOH, the calcium pills have a bunch of good-sounding ingredients that
don't even make it to the front of the label. (and they don't distguish
active from inactive ingredients. Maybe minerals are never "active")
They include titanium dioxide***, magnesiurm stearate****... they don't
even give amounts for thes things, so I guess they are not meant as
helpful, beyond making the pills.
***In 2019, France banned the use of titanium dioxide in food from 2020
on.[87] -- that doesn't sound good.
****Mg stearate is in the TUMS too, so that's no distinction.
.. For the first time a google search, for "Foods high in calcium", led
me to one of those obnoxious sponsored pages where you have to keep
clicking Next to see a little more. I don't know why I'm giving the
link, maybe in cae you don't believe me.
https://facty.com/food/nutrition/15-foods-high-in-calcium/?style=quick&utm_source=adwords&adid=390207793388&ad_group_id=52183769994&utm_medium=c-search&utm_term=foods%20high%20in%20calcium&utm_campaign=FH-USA---Search---15-Foods-High-in-Calcium&gclid=
Cj0KCQiAnb79BRDgARIsAOVbhRpJgVxMPTSWGIMsUG9_-zSYlOrwwUmFuTWl7ALURgc0W5fe3ejUgIgaAtE-EALw_wcB
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)