Calcium is an important mineral that helps maintain the integrity of your skeletal system, and contributes to the health of other body systems as well. You can obtain calcium from food sources, or you can use a dietary supplement. Calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate are two common dietary supplements available over-the-counter.
Calcium Needs
The reasons you need calcium in your diet--either from food or through supplements--are several. Perhaps most familiar to many people, calcium helps to maintain bone density, which in turn helps to prevent osteoporosis. Additionally, however, your muscles use calcium to produce contractions. Your heart also depends upon calcium, explains Dr. Lauralee Sherwood in her book "Human Physiology." To ensure that you're getting sufficient calcium in your diet, you may wish to consider a daily supplement.
Calcium Carbonate
One of the least expensive of the many different calcium supplements available on the market is calcium carbonate. This calcium salt, abundant in nature, consists of positively charged calcium particles and negatively charged carbonate particles. You don't really need or benefit from the carbonate, but you take up calcium into the bloodstream. In a 2007 article in the journal "Nutrition in Clinical Practice," Deborah Straub notes that most individuals have no trouble absorbing the calcium from calcium carbonate.
Calcium Phosphate
Calcium phosphate is another common calcium supplement salt. It consists of positively charged calcium particles and negatively charged phosphate particles, both of which your body can take up and use. In general, notes the Linus Pauling Institute, you don't really need to supplement with phosphate--if you eat a normal, varied diet, you likely get plenty in your food. However, the phosphate in calcium phosphate supplements won't hurt you.
Other Considerations
If you have acid reflux, you may need to consider the pros and cons of calcium carbonate. For individuals who are on acid-reducing medications, including proton pump inhibitors, calcium carbonate is not likely a good source of calcium. This is because you need stomach acid to help you absorb calcium from calcium carbonate, explains Straub. If you have mild acid reflux and aren't on medication, however, calcium carbonate may be an excellent choice of calcium supplement, because it also acts as an antacid.
References
- "Nutrition in Clinical Practice"; Calcium Supplementation in Clinical Practice: A Review of Forms, Doses, and Indications; D. Straub; 2007
- Linus Pauling Institute: Phosphorus
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