Calcium Supplements Are Not All Equal

Many women take calcium supplements to help protect their bones and prevent osteoporosis. But not all supplements contain the same kind of calcium. nor do they affect the body the same way.

Eighteen women age 45 and older took regular doses of a supplement containing calcium citrate for a set period of time. After a one-week break, the women took a second supplement. this one contained calcium carbonate.

The women absorbed more of the bone-boosting mineral when they took calcium citrate. the women had 2.5 times as much calcium in their blood when they took calcium citrate as when they took calcium carbonate.

Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, Vol. 39, No. 11