Calcium citrate for constipation

If you have been taking calcium supplements, you may be in the small percentage that suffers unpleasant side effects. Sometimes, calcium supplements – or more precisely, calcium carbonate – can lead to bloating, gaseousness and constipation.

Vitamin D can also cause constipation and cramps. And it may be tempting to remove supplements from your life completely.

So how do you avoid this? It may be worth changing calcium supplements, and often, what is recommended is calcium citrate for constipation. Calcium citrate is very gentle on the body in comparison to calcium carbonate and is a lot more absorbable.

According to some reports, our bodies naturally lose about 1% of our bone per year after age 35. Calcium carbonate halves this lost by about 50 percent each year. While calcium carbonate causes these side effects of constipation, it was seen as a small price to pay to reduce bone loss.

Calcium carbonate causes these gastro issues, because the rocky mineral turns off the production of stomach acid.

That’s why you can find this mineral in Rennies and other antacids. It may stop heartburn, but it isn’t so great for your digestive system.

Normally, calcium keeps your colon clean by combining with excess bile and decayed fat to form a benign insoluble soap, which is excreted with your stool. But too much leads to digestive problems, as well as other problems such as unwanted build-up of calcium in the arteries.

So, our advice is to change the type of calcium supplement. Try calcium citrate. Reduce the amount to begin with, and work your way up to your recommended amount. Do not go over 1500mg a day.

Try taking calcium citrate with magnesium. If your diet lacks magnesium, you may notice a difference after taking a mag supplement. Magnesium aids good digestion, and is considered a safe, gentle and natural laxative.