<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

I had a bad experience this week with a calcium supplement I paid a lot of
$$ for--and I asked you all if you have sensitivity to calcium.

The concensus from the replies I received is that calcium is indeed often
hard for people with celiac disease to tolerate.  It can cause bloating,
constipation, gas, and general intestinal irritation.

It appears that the various forms of  calcium affect different people.
There is Calcium citrate, which is the one that has wrecked me all week.
This is the one that is supposed to be most absorbable  Also, people cited
calcium carbonate, calcium lactate, and calcium hydroxyapatite--these work
better for some.

Calcium needs to be taken with magnesium---they work together.  Some people
say that it needs also to be taken with Vitamin D, but most of us get enough
sunlight each day, that we don't really need this extra supplement.  Some
people suggest a CA/Mag ration of 1:2, some say 1:1.

A possible problem with many calcium supplements is that they can contain
dairy products--

As for administration, I may have gone really wrong when I followed the
package instructions to take a whole tablespoon (this is liquid supplement)
equal to 1200mg calcium.  I bombarded my gut with this.  Better to take
divided doses over the course of the day, and perhaps to mix it with juice .

Some said we should keep our eye out fro fortified foods and juices--e.g.
Tropicana brand juices have calcium fortification, and I remember the V-8
was calcium rich for awhile.

Several said that they use powdered calcium, and take it with enzymes to aid
breakdown and absorption.  They also take it at bedtime.

I learned that people with 'normal' systems assimilate only about 40% of the
calcium they ingest--hence the high RDAs.  People with malabsorptive guts
probably assimilate less than 10%.

Foods that contain lots of calcium are of course, dairy products, canned
fish with bones, broccoli, collards, almonds, soybeans, molasses and others.
I think we could all do well to try to get our RDas through diet as much as
possible!  Supplements are a mine field.

As for brand names:

Freeda Calcium in several forms
Viactive chews
Nature made
Nature's Life
Country Life
Citrical
HerbaLab coral calcium
Solgar
KAL powder
Calmax


These all are reported as GF by their users.

Thanks,

Chris


Chris Gralapp, MA, CMI
Medical and Scientific Illustration
415.454.6567
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www.biolumina.com