Calcium with Vitamin D 200mg

Calcium Bio-Max® Series

120 Capsules – Hypoallergenic

Calcium with Vitamin D
Bio-Max 200mg

Kirkman® provides calcium capsules with and without vitamin D at the request of physicians. Our Calcium with vitamin D capsule is hypoallergenic and doesn’t incorporate additives. This product is part of our Bio-Max series that employs the kinds of nutrients that have clinically verified to be among the best absorbed and most highly bio-available.

Our calcium capsules use calcium bis-glycinate amino acid chelate, which has been shown to have superior absorption qualities. The accompanying chart released by Albion ®Labs, Inc., the manufacturer of this calcium, demonstrates this by comparing the absorption percentages of diverse calcium sources:

Source	%Absorption
Carbonate	23
Citrate	25
Milk	27
Hydroxyapatite	17
Bis-glycinate chelate	44

Reference: Heaney RP, Recher RR, Weaver CM. "Absorbability of calcium sources: the limited role of solubility", Calcif Tissue Int. 46:300-304, 1990.

This kind of calcium isn’t employed in our powders since it has an unpalatable taste. For this reason, we advise that the capsule be swallowed hale and not opened to mix with food. For people who can’t swallow the capsule entirely, we suggest that they use Kirkman’s Calcium with Vitamin D Unflavored Powder hypoallergenic formula.

What is calcium and how come could I require more?

Calcium is a crucial mineral that your body requires every day. Calcium plays a number of significant roles in the body. A deficiency can cause many adverse health issues. Calcium is the leading component of bones and teeth. More than 98% of the body’s calcium is located in those structures.In the rest of the body, calcium supports circulation, heart function,nerve function and muscle tone.

If inadequate calcium ensues from poor dietary intake, the body can "steal" calcium from the bones to compensate. As this happens, low peak bone mass can result; this means that there will be a low amount of bone mass present at maturity. Low peak bone mass can be a contributing factor to the development of a potentially crippling disease of weak, thin, fragile bones called osteoporosis. More than 25 million people in the United States have this multifactorial disease, which is also affected by race, sex, heredity, body stature, diet, exercise level and lifestyle. Excess alcohol consumption and smoking are also considered risk factors in osteoporosis. Building and maintaining good bone health through adequate calcium intake throughout life is linked to a reduced risk of osteoporosis by optimizing bone mass. Calcium intake exceeding 200%of the recommended daily intake (2000 mg) has no further known benefit.

At what age is calcium intake important?

Very simply, at all ages. Calcium is important to infant development, childhood development when bones are growing, during childbearing and during adulthood to keep bones healthy and strong.

Can’t I get enough calcium from my diet?

Infant formulas and some baby foods are rich in calcium, as is breast milk, so babies and infants probably get enough. Once off of those sources, getting enough calcium becomes more difficult. It is generally recognized by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences that from ages four through adult, optimal calcium Dietary Reference Intakes for good health range from 800 to 1200 mg daily. To get that from the diet requires that an individual ingest two to three servings ofdairy products per day, plus several servings of protein, vegetables, grains and fruits. This is difficult for many people.

Many individuals are sensitive to dairy products, casein, lactose or other dairy proteins. These individuals find it very challenging to obtain enough dietary calcium.

What affects calcium absorption from my diet?

Fiber-rich foods and plant foods containing phytic acid can negatively affect the absorption of calcium, as can caffeine. Excess fat, salt and soft drinks also have a negative effect.

It’s better to spread calcium intake out over the day instead of taking it all at once. Studies show that when too much calcium is in the body at once, absorption is diminished.

Vitamin D increases the absorption of calcium, so it’s crucial to make certain your diet incorporates adequate amounts of that nutrient. Vitamin D is stored in the body, so it’s not required to ingest the vitamin D at the same time as the calcium; however, some calcium supplements incorporate small quantities of vitamin D as a preventative measure. Older adults without sunlight exposure and with poor dietary habits are most at risk to be deficient in vitamin D.

What kind of calcium supplement should I take?

There are many first-class calcium supplements available on the market. Calcium carbonate and calcium citrate are the most popular sources, with calcium carbonate being by far the most abundant. Both calcium carbonate and calcium citrate are great sources and are well-absorbed. The New England Journal of Medicine (1987) reported that these forms of calcium had similar absorption profiles to the calcium found in milk, and these results have been substantiated in subsequent studies.

Calcium carbonate is better absorbed when taken with food. People with the condition achlorhydria (missing stomach acid) appear to absorb calcium citrate better, although the difference is reduced when calcium carbonate is taken with food.

There’s a single form of calcium that’s displayed a few advantages in absorption properties. The form is called calcium bis-glycinate chelate, which is produced by Albion® Laboratories Inc., of Clearfield, Utah.

What additional quality issues do I need to be aware of while picking out calcium supplements?

Low quality calcium supplements may have a higher lead content than is preferred. The United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) and the Food Chemicals Codex are regarded as measures for quality materials employed in supplements. The lead tolerance in these publications is three parts per million (ppm), an acceptable level to the Food and Drug Administration. Most reputable companies have implemented these standards. It can also be mentioned that some high-quality pharmaceutical grades of calcium are also available that contain lead levels far under the 3 ppm established standard.

A different issue in quality calcium supplements is dissolution and disintegration standards of the dosage form. It’s essential that a product dissolve in the body to have benefit. Check with your manufacturer to ensure that its calcium products conform to USP standards.

Lastly, look cautiously at the label of the calcium supplement you are considering to puchase. The requirements for calcium intake pertain to elemental calcium. Your supplement should be providing the complete amount of the mineral calcium, not an amount of the calcium salt. For instance, a supplement should be providing 600 mg of elemental calcium, not 600 mg of calcium carbonate. If a supplement provided 600 mg of calcium carbonate, it would only be providing 216 mg of elemental calcium. If you have any reservations or doubts, call the manufacturer. Calcium is too crucial to your health to have a deficiency.

Can I take too much calcium?

The National Institute of Health and the Journal of the American Medical Association appear to agree that most people can safely ingest up to 2000 mg per day of calcium.

Kirkman’s calcium supplements:

Kirkman® manufactures all of its calcium products with pharmaceutical grade, low-lead calcium-containing raw materials. All Kirkman® calcium products are developed to meet USP specifications for dissolution and/or disintegration for calcium supplements.