I distinctly remember my mom telling me to drink my daily rations of milk – one glass in the morning and another at night. I also remember loving it and my sister quite the opposite – she would surreptitiously pour her milk into the sink or water the plants with it! I guess I should thank my mother for making us drink a lot of milk during those formative years. Why? Because of its calcium content.

Today, calcium deficiency is one of the main concerns for women in their 30s or even early 20s. The great fear is that when we reach our 50s or 60s, osteoporosis would set in. That is why you can see a plethora of advertisements regarding calcium and different products supposedly containing adequate amounts of this mineral.

Because calcium is not that easy to acquire from the natural food that we eat everyday, the best course for the busy woman these days would be to take calcium supplements. There are a lot of different forms of calcium supplements – calcium caltrate, calcium carbonate, oyster shell or bone meal based calcium supplements, coral calcium, calcium lactate.

You have to be careful when choosing which kind of supplement you take. This is because calcium is not easily absorbed by our body. So the fact that you are taking supplements doesn’t mean that the body is actually benefiting from it. Different supplements may have different instructions on dosage and the manner of intake. You can ask our doctor to help you determine which supplement is the best for your needs.

Originally posted on August 13, 2010 @ 12:27 pm