Question:
Crystal Light Classic Orange - Calcium Citrate

Looking at the label for Crystal Light Sunrise Classic Orange, it says each serving (8 servings in a 'tub') has 10% of the daily value of calcium. Then when I look at the ingredients, it has calcium citrate as the second ingredient. So if I mix up a tub of this and drink it, which I usually can finish before lunch, does that count toward our calcium requirement as a post-op RNY? Because that's a lot easier to swallow than those horse pills. There's lots of knowledgeable people out there - anybody have information on this? Thanks.    — LisaHillsinger (posted on April 27, 2005)

April 27, 2005
Hi Lisa...that is a great question, I would like to hear what people have to say about that. I did want to mention to you that I can't stand taking those huge pills either so I order Tropical Oasis Liquid Calcium Citrate. I drink a cap of it daily and that is it, it has the required amount of citrate, magnesium and other stuff that we need. It is so much easier than taking pills and the taste, although isn't out of this world, is certainly tolerable and well worth the ease! I just ordered a bottle from bariatriceating.com along with nectar protein since they both were on sale. Email me if you like. Hope this helps.
   — Stephanie W.

April 27, 2005
I don't know the answer either, but it sounds reasonable. I notice that I must swirl those Crystal Lights w/Calcium because they get a white settled matter at the bottom. That white matter is probably the calcium. I use Upcal D, and have to swirl it around also, since calcium, being a mineral, doesn't dissolve. I don't think I'd depend fully on CL for my calcium needs, though, because I think drinking too much (who defines that?) causes cravings and the product does contain aspartame. You should check out the Upcal D, I've been very happy with it in my shakes and have to do fewer horse pills now. :)
   — ruokannie

April 27, 2005
Hi, I just wanted to make a comment, in the research I have done, we need 1500mgs calcium citrate daily, but we can only absorb 500 mgs at a time, so you would need to split up what you take into 3 doses instead of taking it all at once. I am not sure how much calcium is in the Tropical Oasis Liquid Calcium Citrate supplement, but it would be a waste to take more than you can absorb at a time. jmho.btw I take UpCalD 2x's a day mixed with a little of my protein drinks(like a shot) and I chew 2 calcium citrate chewable wafers from twinlabs daily (they are like eating a big sweet tart)...Lisa lap/rny 10-23-03 340/169/??? -171 lbs.
   — Lisa H.

April 27, 2005
The RDA on any product does not really apply to us - it's for people with either/or restrictive/malabsorptive procedures. Try UpCal, or pills, whatever - but you will go into a serious calcium defficiency using any "normal" beverage (even one with added calcium) as a calcium source. We need a good 1,500/day just to absorb what "normal" people need.
   — kultgirl

April 28, 2005
Hi Lisa, My doc has me taking Caltrate 600+D twice a day. It comes in (horse) pill size and chewable. I prefer those because they come in flavors.Give them a try. Good luck.
   — rozebud69

April 28, 2005
Caltrate chewable tabs are great, easy to take and provide you with all the calcium you need. They also help with blotting and gas.
   — scamp

April 30, 2005
Not really. It's a nice little bonus, but simply a drop in the bucket. I'm tending toward 2000mg/day for even bands, maybe more for bypasses (RNY). Caltrate is NOT a citrate product. It's carbonate, slightly worse than nothing at all.
   — vitalady

May 15, 2005
Hi Guys, I just was reading through the posts for this quuestion and wanted to explain some things about calcium carbonate (Caltrate-D) versus Calcium Citrate. I am a chiropractic (med) student and am taking a nutrition class that ironically went over this topic last friday. According to my professor Dr. Joel Pins (a world class nutritionist) the pH of the stomach is unable to fully process Calcium Carbonate. I would assume that this is even more prevelant in our WLS community due to our decreased stomach capacity in general. Calcium combined with CITRATE and taken as a supplement is very souluble (digestible) by our stomachs. Therefore, little stomach acid is used to process it (which causes less irritation to us in the long run). However, Calcium CARBONATE enters the stomach in a non-soulble (hard to digest) form and therefore requires a LOT of stomach acid to digest it. The reason why the Calcium CITRATE is easier to digest is because it is in a "chelated" form which means that the supplement it-self is surrounded by digestible material so that once it hits the stomach the surrounding material gets digested and ALL of the good stuff (calcium) gets across the small intestine into the body. Knowing the difference between these two forms of Calcium supplementation is very important , especially if you are one of the post-ops that are suffering from kidney stones. Calcium carbonate (due to the stomach's inability to process it) is transferred across the small intestine into the blood stream where it eventually ends up in the kidneys thus having a DIRECT effect on the formation of kidney stones. Supplements like VIACTIVE, CALTRATE-D and any other supplements that use carbonate in their ingredients will cause this. I am very intrested in the biochemistry of human nutrition and will keep you posted on anything else I learn. As to why the nutritionists and surgeons don't tell us this stuff...a lot of it has just recently been discovered and they may not be updated on it yet. Good luck and happy calcium supplementation. LOL -Michelle D
   — Opiacy