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| Author | Message |
 | Post Date: 5/19/08 1:03 pm Last Edit: 5/19/08 2:31 pm I may be wrong, but I have serious concerns about the claims of there being 750 mg of calcium in this product. Michelle??
I was very concerned to see that there were several people saying they were taking ONE of the Nature's Science calcium citrate pills from Vitalady and saying that it had 750 mg of calcium, which sounds pretty hard to believe, knowing what I do about the density of calcium in the citrate form. So I went to the vitalady.com site and found this:
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 La Plata, MD Duodenal Switch (01/31/08) Member Since: 07/05/07[Latest Posts] | Post Date: 5/19/08 2:03 pm Lord, now i am confused. I take 8 tabs (2 tabs are a serving of 630mgs) of calcium citrate per day for a total of 2520mgs per day. I know that in general there is really only half of that 630mg dose that is absorbed which is why I take 8 just to get 1260mgs per day. Do I not even get that now???? matbe I am just goofing myslef up with this but I was taking Upcal D and that too is citrate and there is a note on the box that says out of the 500mg serving you only get 250mg of actaul calcium. I just want to take the right stuff since I am only 3.5 months out. Believe me I am learning more about these vits and how they are with our bodies that my nutrition class could have ever taught me.
Also, what brand do you take that at the end of the day 4 tabs give you 1000mgs of actual calcium as I would gladly not take as may huge pills per day.
Thanks so much for the info.
Jennifer Jennifer |
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| Post Date: 5/19/08 2:13 pm I don't know why they would say only 50% would be absorbed -- can you copy the product literature word-for-word into a post so I can look at it? All forms of calcium, including that found in our food, are absorbed differently, and it depends on what you are eating with it, etc.
I take one tablet each of Costco Calcium Citrate (with VitD, Mg, Mn, Zn, B6) and Citrical, twice a day. They are horse pills. I take one each because my B6 was WAY too high last year, and although I like the mix of extras in the Costco, I didn't like being so high in B6. Citrical may have D in it (I'm not home right now), but none of the other extras.
I eat a lot of calcium-containing foods (cheese, meat, milk, etc.). I supplement with 1000 mg of calcium citrate, in a form containing VitD, Mg and Mn, which are supposed to help with calcium absorption. I have NO CLUE how much I absorb -- I go entirely on my PTH levels, which I track yearly, including trends, and my DEXA scan results, measured every other year. So far, so good. If things change, I would adjust how much I am taking. |
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 Grand Rapids, MI Duodenal Switch (12/13/07) Member Since: 02/05/08[Latest Posts] | Post Date: 5/19/08 2:07 pm
Info from another product label, to add to the discussion --
UpCal D lists a 2g scoop as containing 500mg of Calcium from Citrate (50% value) and 250IU of D3 (60% value). The only other ingredient listed beyond Calcium citrate and D3 is Dextrose.
~ I am the proud wife of a Guatemalan, but most people call me Kimberley |
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| Post Date: 5/19/08 2:26 pm And that also confuses me -- I can't tell if it means what it is SUPPOSED to mean:
Of the 2 g in the scoop:
In order to supply 500 g of elemental calcium, there would have to be a minimum of 2500 mg or 2.5 g of calcium citrate (nevermind the dextrose and D3), because calcium citrate is about 20% elemental calcium (500 mg x 5 = 2500 mg). Something isn't right -- even without the extras, you need more calcium citrate by weight than is in the scoop!
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20001015/tips/1.html |
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 On the Rez, SD Duodenal Switch (09/18/07) Member Since: 01/06/06[Latest Posts] | Post Date: 5/19/08 2:17 pm Thanks for posting this question/concern. This the calcium citrate I've been taking since about 3 months out. I also take the calcium with magnesium that Michelle carries. I switched to this brand because I was tired of having a hard time taking the giant Caltrate pills. I still have a whole unopened bottle of them, so if the ones I'm taking now are inferior I will switch back...even if it means I have to choke down the "horse pills." Hopefully, there will be clarification, because now I'm wondering...
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 Cumberland, MD Duodenal Switch (08/14/07) Member Since: 05/04/07[Latest Posts] | Post Date: 5/19/08 2:41 pm Last Edit: 5/19/08 2:42 pm Diane, thank you for posting this. I recently switched to Upcal D and would not like to make a mistake in my calcium intake as I am fighting some other low levels. I will be glad when Michele clarifies this. I take the prepackaged small packs. I would not mind doubling how many I take a day but I want to know I am taking the correct dose. I am lousy at swallowing pills. Jo
Okay I edited my post to add this. I am looking at the supplement facts and here is what it says:
Upcal D-Powdered Calcium & Vitamin D-Ingredients: Calcium Citrate, Vitamin D3 and Dextrose
serving size 1 packet (2.0g)
Amount per serving %daily Value*
Calcium from Citrate 500 mg 50%
Vitamin D3 250IU 60%
*Percent daily values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet
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La Plata, MD Duodenal Switch (01/31/08) Member Since: 07/05/07[Latest Posts] | Post Date: 5/19/08 3:02 pm Last Edit: 5/19/08 3:04 pm I went to get the box of Upcal D. On the side of the box it says this....
Are all calcium supplements created equally?
No they are not.
The absorption rates between Upcal D calcium citrate (at 50%) and calcium carbonate (at 10%) differ drastically.
As a result, you get 5 times more calcium absorption with the calcium citrate found in Upcal D
That is exactly what the box says. I interpret this that the dose we get means that we get 50% of the actaul dose as actual citrate. So to me in order to get 1000mgs I must take 4 packets or 2000 of the Upcal D. I do take the horse pills so as I stated I take 8 tabs or 2520mgs just to get half.
Ughhhhhhhhhhh too much!!!!! Jennifer |
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| Post Date: 5/19/08 4:26 pm Last Edit: 5/20/08 7:49 am It is impossible for me to say. I assume the RDAs are determined based on INTAKE, not absorption. I would NOT take twice as much as the RDA, unless your doctor tells you to because your PTH is high, no matter whether you are taking it in the form of calcium carbonate, calcium citrate, or by food.
Keep in mind that NORMAL people are suggested to take 1000 mg of calcium per day; assuming they NORMALLY only absorb 10% or 100 mg, that must be enough. We are advised to take calcium citrate because we have reduced stomach acid, which would FURTHER lower our ability to absorb the poorly dissociating (which is what the acid does) and absorbed calcium carbonate.
Edited because I wrote "because your PTH is low" instead of high -- DOH!! |
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 islander, FL Member Since: 02/03/07 [Latest Posts] | Post Date: 5/19/08 4:17 pm i have a fairly new bottle and it is stating...1000mg calcium citrate per 2 caps. |
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| Post Date: 5/19/08 4:29 pm A bottle of what? My initial post was about the Nature's Science Calcium Citrate 750, which supposedly has 750 mg per capsule of ... something -- it's not clear what.
Again, 1000 mg of calcium citrate per 2 caps literally means 210 mg of elemental calcium. Normal people are supposed to take 1000 mg/day of elemental calcium, according to the RDA, and we are supposed to take somewhat more. |
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 BFE, CA Duodenal Switch (07/19/06) Member Since: 02/21/06[Latest Posts] | Post Date: 5/19/08 6:49 pm Diana, this is something that Susan Maria over at Bariatric Eating has been pounding into people. Yes, the label says Calcium Citrate - and it is the fair and correct amount. But it is not, as you say, elemental calcium. That is indicated by the label actually saying elemental calcium or calcium as calcium citrate. Just saying plain old calcium citrate, you only get the 21 % or so in elemental calcium - 150 mg of calcium.
In other words, don't shoot the messenger (Michelle). Shoot the manufacturer and/or the governing agencies so that they make the manufacturers give us a more realistic picture as to what's going on here. We have to be so much more cautious than other people, and unfortunately manufacturers are given leeway that makes them seem to be giving us much more than what we get. ~ Sarah P. |
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| Post Date: 5/19/08 7:10 pm Yeah, that's sort of my point -- if the Nature's Science Calcium Citrate 750 capsules contain only 750 mg of calcium citrate and not 750 mg of elemental calcium, at least two well-read people on this board alone have been confused by this and are taking ONE-FIFTH of the calcium they think they are taking. At what cost to their bones?
I'd say not being CLEAR about this is unethical. And the label on the bottle (saying it contains 75% of the RDA, which would be 750 mg of ELEMENTAL calcium) is FALSE. |
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 MS Member Since: 06/17/07 [Latest Posts] | Post Date: 5/19/08 10:36 pm Good job Diana for catching this. I am a Pharmacist and since these supplements aren't monitored by the FDA alot of the companies do a shotty job of labeling. I wish the FDA would/could oversee these. We have caught several errors at our pharmacy of supplements with unclear dosages and labeling. The notorious scam is the per serving content. The label may say calcium 1200mg, but under serving size it may say per 4 tablets or something. I have also seen several instances like you describe with other things such as iron or magnesium. It will say x mg and from whatever source but doesn't specify if it's that many mg per elemental or salt form. I wouldn't take something from a bottle that doesn't specify the elemental amount. |
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 near Louisville, KY Duodenal Switch (04/15/08) Member Since: 07/18/07[Latest Posts] | Post Date: 5/20/08 6:34 am so where are we on this thing?
Is the Costco calcium still a good thing to take? Are we getting 500 mg of cal cit when we take 2?
what about the upcal D, what is the concensus on that? Is there 500mg in a spoon of it?
what about the vitalady 750s that sounds like a dream come true. 750 mg in one pill the size of a candy. Is it what it says it is?
I just like things to be clear. No ambiguity with my vitamins please. I owed it to myself to research the duodenal switch before consenting to any other weight loss surgery and so do you. Check out DSFacts.com and DuodenalSwitch.com for more information. Remember think twice, cut once, revisions are risky and revision surgeons are rare. DS Lab Rats |
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| Post Date: 5/20/08 7:14 am The only one I trust at this point is the Costco calcium citrate.
I'm waiting to hear back from Michelle on the Vitalady stuff, although I REALLY think it is impossible that the 750 mg capsules have 750 mg of elemental calcium.
I don't know about the upcal D, because it doesn't make scientific sense that 2 g = 500 mg of elemental calcium, when 500 mg of elemental calcium citrate by defnition has to weigh 2.5 g. Something is fishy with that. |
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 Mount Wolf, PA Duodenal Switch (09/24/07) Member Since: 07/26/07[Latest Posts] | Post Date: 5/20/08 7:20 am What is your opinion on
Citracal® Petites with Vitamin D
Serving Size : 2 tablets DIRECTIONS FOR USE: Take 1 to 2 tablets two times daily or as recommended by your physician, pharmacist or health professional. |
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| Post Date: 5/20/08 7:25 am I think they are fine, so long as you keep in mind that they only provide 400 mg elemental calcium per TWO tablets, so you need to take at least 6 per day for 1200 mg, two tablets at a time in three divided doses, and most people should probably take more. |
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La Plata, MD Duodenal Switch (01/31/08) Member Since: 07/05/07[Latest Posts] | Post Date: 5/20/08 7:39 am Ok, so I am clear in my brain. My surgeon has changed his guidelines with regards to the daily intake in mgs of calcium citrate. He wants his patients to take 2000 to 2400mgs of calcium citrate per day. Now, this means that for me to hit that number I take 2 tabs which is a serving to get 630 mgs four times a day to equal 2530mgs. If Upcal D is correct that each packet contains 500mgs and we ABSORB 50% of that then to get the recommended 1000mgs I would take 4 packets. In pill form I would in turn get half of the 2530 mgs per day. So, bottom line would this be correct????? If I only take 1000mgs and we get half and god know how much we really get from our new innerds would taking the higher amount be right??????? I think that percentage amounts on the bottles say what you get for a normal person and since we are different I just want to be in good health and take the correct stuff.
Please let me know what you think.
Jennifer Jennifer |
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 Central, FL Duodenal Switch (01/28/08) Member Since: 08/27/07[Latest Posts] | Post Date: 5/20/08 7:47 am Last Edit: 5/20/08 7:48 am "I take 2 tabs which is a serving to get 630 mgs four times a day to equal 2530mgs "
That's exactly how I take it. I also have the Upcal D and slip it into a drink or two but I base my daily totals on the pills. Anything over the pill amount is gravy to me.
"In pill form I would in turn get half of the 2530 mgs per day."
You're not absorbing only half of the pills, their label information is correct, not misleading like the Upcal D. With the pills you are getting that full amount. Renee I  My DS SW/263 CW/136 GW/150 |
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