At 03:34 PM 3/6/01 -0600, you wrote:
>I received a call from a client who is taking a calcium supplement since she
>is off all dairy products. The reason she called me was to find out which
>calcium source is better and if calcium supplements could be responsible for
>very offensive gas/wind. She was told to take Calcium Citrate by the
>pharmacist because it causes less gas. Any thoughts?

Did she have the gas while taking the citrate or was she on carbonate when
that problem arose?

I have known of several people who had GI disturbances with carbonate but
not with citrate.

I take Ca Citrate because I have read a lot of places that it is better
assimilated than carbonate.  That may be the reason that it doesn't cause
gas.  One thing to stress to her is that she needs to take a
calcium/magnesium combination.  Calcuim without magnesium is not used by
the body and can cause kidney stones as well as not giving the CA that one
is after.

If she is in your area she could get a good CA/Mag as citrate at Total
Health.  If a person is off dairy I suggest that she take a ca/mag/zinc,
since dairy is a major source of zinc.  But if she eats a lot of eggs and
oats and peanut butter she will be getting enough zinc.

She needs 1500 mg of CA a day with 750mg of Mag. It always needs to be in a
2/1 ratio. Most supplements will be in the right ratio.  I tell a mother
that she can take 1300mg of CA since she will be getting some CA in other
foods.

Pat
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