How Much Calcium Should I Take?

Men and women should make sure to get enough calcium: 1,000 to 1,200 milligrams (mg) a day for men and 1,200 mg for most women over thirty (pregnancy and other conditions may change requirements slightly). Take 500 or 600 mg twice a day. (This refers to the amount of actual calcium, not calcium in combination with citrate or carbonate.

If the label reads 1,000 mg of calcium citrate, read on to find the amount of calcium by itself.) Any kind of calcium supplement -- even over-the-counter antacid tablets -- should fit the bill, just as long as you are getting the right amount of milligrams. What about coral calcium? What about calcium carbonate versus calcium citrate?

Some people favor coral calcium, because a study showed that calcium absorption was 17.5 percent better with coral calcium than with calcium carbonate. But why pay three times as much for just this small difference in absorption? Why not just take 200 mg more a day?

You'll get the same amount in your body. That extra 200 mg may cost you perhaps a dime more, whereas the coral calcium would cost you something like a dollar extra a day. I advise against taking calcium supplements that contain bone meal, dolomite, and/or oyster shells, as these can contain lead or other heavy metals that may be toxic.

Calcium carbonate is best absorbed when taken with food. Calcium citrate may be taken at any time (by itself or with food). Both forms can cause constipation.

If this occurs, eat more fruits, whole grain cereals, and vegetables or rely on that old standby, a prune a day. I recommend taking about 300 mg of magnesium in conjunction with calcium. Eat dairy foods for extra calcium, but do not rely on them as your only source of calcium unless you eat and drink a lot of dairy products (and, of course, remember to eat low-fat versions).

If you consistently drink three or four glasses of milk a day, you can modify the amount you take in supplemental form accordingly. You must be very careful to make the 1,000- or 1,200-mg marker daily. Here's a reminder to anyone under thirty, or even thirty-five: You should get lots of calcium to build bone strength for the future, because the calcium the body stores in bone until about the mid-thirties then becomes the surplus stores for the rest of your life.