Calcium is a nutrient crucial for all living organisms.[1] The most abundant mineral found in the human body, calcium is essential for bone health as well as muscle movement and cardiovascular functions. Imagine, our bones and teeth constitute 99% Calcium!
Some benefits of calcium include:
- Strengthening bones – Just like milk and cheese, calcium pills can directly enhance bones. The added benefit is that with these vitamins, you won’t have to worry about additional ingredients since milk and cheese can have preservatives and other chemicals.
- Regulating muscle contraction – One thing you might not know is that your muscles also need calcium to operate properly. Calcium is something that helps with your muscles recovering faster from workouts or when they are generally stiff or acting up.
- Strengthening your heart – Taking calcium supplements helps you maintain a healthy cardiovascular system.
- Stabilizing blood pressure – While the evidence for this isn’t definitive, there have been some studies out there that claim that calcium helps with blood pressure, improves cholesterol valves, and prevents diabetes.[2]
Although you can find calcium in many fruits and vegetables, many people favor taking calcium supplements for an additional supply as most Americans do not get enough of it from food sources. Experts recommend that adults get 1,000 to 1,200 mg (milligrams) of calcium each day to maintain a healthy diet.[3]
With that being said, not only have we found out the best calcium supplements for you but we also provided you with crucial criteria about how to choose one. You must evaluate your choice according to these points and find the “right” calcium supplement unique to your body’s necessities.
Last not but not least, it is always best to consult your doctor if you have a health issue that you are going under treatment.
Why You Should Trust Us
As you can guess, the market is full of options, both good and bad ones. Firstly, our list consists of purified labels that are United States Pharmacopeia stated, which means these calcium supplements do not contain high levels of lead or other toxic metals.
Secondly, they work well in terms of absorbability and come in chewable and liquid forms, as this is the best way the body absorbs Calcium. As tolerance and side effects are concerned, our list gives you several options. If you develop any side effects such as constipation, you can choose another brand.
Last but not least, we did our best to provide you an accessible, budget-friendly, and convenient list.
How to Choose the Right Calcium Supplement?
Here are things to look for when you’re choosing the best calcium supplement for you.
Amount of Calcium
While the benefits of calcium are great, too much calcium can make things worse. Excessive calcium can lead to muscle weakness and other heart problems, among other things.[4] Generally speaking, once a day is good enough.
Quality and Cost
Calcium is calcium of course, but the quality is more built around the amount in each pill and the number of pills that you get. You want to make sure you’re getting a good amount of these pills for the price you’re paying for them.
Prescriptions You Take
Calcium pills might not mix well with other medications. While they’ll be alright being taken with other medication and over-the-counter pills, you could run into issues if you’re taking specific medication prescribed by a professional doctor.
Supplement Form
You’ll find most calcium supplements to be combined with other vitamins like calcium magnesium. These will change the look of the pill too depending on the vitamin. Some may be in the form of a tonic rather than an actual pill.
Absorbability
Absorbability is how quickly does it take for the vitamins to be absorbed. Even if it’s in a pill, it could work more effectively than liquid.
Tolerability
Calcium supplements do have side effects though they are minor ones. These entail gas, constipation, and bloating. The key is finding a brand that you can tolerate.
5 Best Calcium Supplements
Here are 5 of the best calcium supplements you can choose from.
1. Caltrate Gummy Bites
Caltrate is a brand known for its chewable pills. As mentioned before, chewable pills are some of the best around for absorbing vital vitamins. The fact that they are easily absorbable means you can improve your bone health easily.
It’s also great in terms of cost since there are 100 of these gummies in each bottle. Provided you’re having one per day, you’ll only need to purchase about four bottles of these each year. And since the price is fairly low, you shouldn’t have any issues getting them.
As for the pills themselves, they have a supplement vitamin D3 in there. They also provide a mixture of flavors to them in each bottle: orange, strawberry, and black cherry.
Buy Caltrate’s Calcium pills here.
2. Nature’s Way
Another gummy alternative is Nature’s Way. Similar to Caltrate, these provide calcium along with vitamin D3. Although, that is where their similarities end.
Nature’s Way provides a lower price but also fewer gummies, meaning you may be spending more money long term by going with this brand. Furthermore, instead of providing a mixture of three flavors, Nature’s Way provides two: strawberry and raspberry lemonade.
That said, each of the pills contains a medley of other orchard fruit and vegetables, such as pineapple, carrot, plum, cauliflower, beet, apple, and more. Even though the ingredients are a medley of minerals, it still provides an improvement in dealing with osteoporosis, heart health, and bones.
Also, note that the pills contain pectin rather than gelatin.
Buy Nature’s Way Calcium pills here.
3. Child Life
Another one of the best calcium supplements you can consider is Child Life. Despite the name of the company, adults can enjoy this as well to improve muscle function, blood pressure management, and prevent blood clotting.
First of all, this is liquid calcium that contains four vitamins: calcium, magnesium, zinc, and vitamin D. This is a tonne of saving as it saves you from getting various calcium pills that contain only one of those additional ones.
On top of that, considering that it’s in liquid form, you won’t need a large amount of it. The recommended amount is one tablespoon per day.
Buy Child Life Calcium pills here.
4. Caltrate Chewables
Caltrate is often the go-to brand for many people and for a good reason. They provide good quality calcium pills to help with the nerve system, heart, blood pressure, muscles, and more. They also make it easier on your teeth through the fact their pills are chewable.
This is only the beginning of their improvement to your health with these chewable pills. This version is the plus version, which includes more vitamins as well as more pills overall.
Their large bottle of 155 tablets primarily contains calcium carbonate together with vitamin D3, zinc, copper, and manganese to build up stronger bone health.
The only kind of downside to these pills is it is recommended to take two of them per day. So, they skimped on the quality but made up for it by providing a little bit of everything. I’d still consider it one of the best calcium supplements out there because it covers many vitamins that your body needs.
Buy Caltrate Calcium pills here.
5. Nature’s Bounty
The final of the best calcium supplements I recommend is the one from Nature’s Bounty. This brand is incredible and excellent for adults to try out. These gummies in particular contain calcium with a supplement of vitamin D3 and D2. From this list, no other calcium supplement provides vitamin D2. What this means is that it’ll be easier to absorb the vitamins than other brands.
All in all, the pills do their job well, giving you 70 chewable pills and offer a great flavor while providing support for healthy bones and teeth.
Buy Nature’s Bounty Calcium pills here.
Final Thoughts
As there is no way of knowing how your body will react to these pills, I encourage you to try out various brands until you find one that you like and that you can invest in reasonably.
All of these brands mentioned above do fit that bill, providing ample amounts of gummies or liquid that should last for a few months or three at most if used daily. You can’t go wrong with any of these options.
More Supplements for a Healthier Body
- Best 7 Supplements to Boost Immune System
- 7 Best Probiotic Supplements (Recommendation & Reviews)
- 7 Digestive Supplements for Enhanced Digestion
Featured photo credit: R+R Medicinals via unsplash.com
Reference
[1] | ^ | Medical News Today: Benefits and sources of calcium |
[2] | ^ | Medical News Today: Benefits and sources of calcium |
[3] | ^ | Harvard Health Publishing: Choosing a calcium supplement |
[4] | ^ | Medical News Today: What happens when calcium levels are high? |