Is it best to take calcium before or after eating?

Supplementing calcium will help protect bones and promote health. So calcium taken before eating or after eating will achieve the highest effect? In this article, Solife Vietnam will answer in detail the issues related to calcium supplements that you cannot miss.

1. What is Calcium?

Before learning about the content of calcium taken before eating or after eating is highly effective, you also need to know more about the definition of calcium. Calcium is one of the minerals that play an important role in the human body. In, calcium accounts for 1.5% to 2% of the body weight, 99% of calcium exists in the form of bones, teeth, and nails, and 1% is in the blood.

Calcium is commonly found in two main forms. That are:

• Calcium in bones: The structure of calcium in bones consists of 25% water, 20% protein, 5% lipids, a very small amount of glycosaminoglycans, and nearly 50% minerals.
• Extra-skeletal calcium: ie the amount of calcium present in the fluid outside the bone cells. This extra-bone calcium interval will not exceed 10g.

2. Calcium taken before eating or after eating is best for you

Calcium has an extremely important role, helping to form strong bones and joints and participate in the blood clotting process to support muscle cell contraction activities.

• In children, if there is a calcium deficiency, the child will have symptoms such as stunting, growth retardation, hair loss or crying at night, or being sick. To avoid this situation in young children, please read the following article: How to properly and safely supplement calcium for children?
• For pregnant and lactating women, the lack of calcium will lead to the risk of body aches, postpartum back pain, and osteoporosis. See also: Signs of calcium deficiency  
• In the elderly, a lack of calcium will lead to osteoporosis. See more: How to effectively supplement calcium for the elderly 

Thus, understanding the importance of calcium supplements, people have taken supplements from food to daily calcium tablets to protect your health. However, not everyone knows whether it is best to drink calcium before or after eating.

According to nutritionists, you should drink calcium in the morning after eating from 07.00 to 08.00, so that calcium is absorbed into the body quickly, minimizing calcium accumulation in the kidneys. In addition, you should not divide calcium into many times/day. Instead, calcium supplements should only be taken once a day.

See more: Guide you to drink calcium properly, with high efficiency

3. Things to keep in mind when taking calcium

So we went together to find out if calcium taken before or after eating is effective. In addition, to promote the full use of calcium, users should pay attention to the following:

• You should not take calcium in the evening, especially after 9pm onwards.
• In case you are needing to take several different antibiotics, calcium should be taken 2 hours apart from taking antibiotics.
• You should also not use too strong food at the same time as taking calcium. This can cause urinary calcium loss.
• You should also not take calcium after a meal with too much protein. Because the digestion of fat can reduce the ability of the body to absorb the substances contained in calcium to help the body become healthier.
• People who use calcium should not use calcium together with milk, or some stimulants such as coffee as well as fruit juice. See also: Calcium-rich foods that you need to use every day
• You should not take too much calcium. To be able to ensure that the body absorbs all the nutrients in calcium, you should only drink a sufficient amount that is suitable for the body. Because in some cases calcium can often increase the risk of kidney stone formation that adversely affects your health.
• You should not drink calcium with green tea because the tannins in green tea will interfere with the absorption of nutrients in calcium.
• Especially for pregnant women who are experiencing symptoms of anemia, calcium should not be taken along with some iron supplements.
• According to many publications, some calcium supplements on the market today contain a small amount of lead that can adversely affect the development of the fetus. Therefore, pregnant women should not take calcium without choosing a suitable product for themselves. You should take the type of calcium prescribed by your doctor.

Calcium taken before or after eating is the content that we have studied together in the above section. We hope with the article about calcium, you can better understand how to drink as well as the notes in the process of taking calcium.

Trần Hoàng Uyên

Trần Hoàng Uyên (Senior Manager Pharmaceutical company) là chuyên gia cấp cao với nhiều năm kinh nghiệm trong lĩnh vực dược phẩm. Tốt nghiệp cử nhân chuyên ngành Quản lý dược I tại Trường Đại học Y dược TP. Hồ Chí Minh và hiện đang công tác tại công ty dược phẩm. Với hơn 10 năm kinh nghiệm làm việc trong ngành dược, chị Hoàng Uyên là chuyên gia cộng tác tham vấn y khoa cho danh mục blog cũng như các nội dung liên quan trên Solife. (Tran Hoang Uyen (Senior Manager Pharmaceutical company) is a senior specialist with many years of experience in the Pharmaceutical field. She graduated Bachelor of Pharmacy Management I at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City and is currently working for a pharmaceutical company. With more than 10 years of experience working in the pharmaceutical industry, Ms. Hoang Uyen is a medical consultant collaborator for content on Solife's website.)