3 replies to this topic

[Forever21]

When a recipe asks for "3g calcium (elemental) supplement" and my Calcium supplement is "Elemental Calcium (Carbonate) (250 mg/capsule) & Elemental Magnesium (Oxide) (125mg/capsule) with D3 (100IU)"


How many capsule should I use?


12? (250mg x 12 capsule = 3g)
or
4?


I'm confused because the same person who made the recipe (Sherm) also said:


"If you choose to use supplements, as I did for calcium and zinc, please note that the amounts listed are *elemental*. You may need a larger amount of supplement to provide the required elemental amount. I use 6 calcium carbonate powder capsules of 1 g each to get a total of 2 g of elemental calcium."


Why would he use 6g of calcium for 2g elemental?

[greensweater]

Calcium Carbonate is 40% elemental calcium, so if he used 6 grams of Calcium Carbonate, he actually got 2.4 grams of Elemental Calcium. If you want 3 grams Elemental you will need 7.5 grams of Calcium Carbonate.

Or at least I think that is the case, haha I am bad at math.

[ajnast4r]

Why would he use 6g of calcium for 2g elemental?

because youre measuring the total amount calcium in the molecule, minus the carbonate.

Edited by ajnast4r, 16 August 2010 - 07:41 PM.

[hallucinogen]

Calcium needs an acidic environment to be absorbed well, Calcium Carbonate is actually an antacid... and is also the most dangerous calcium form out there... they used to paint ceiling and walls with it before ...

Also don't take more then 333mg of calcium at once, and no more then 1000mg a day, including your diet, i would just stick with 333mg/day though .

Go with Calcium Citrate, it already has the citrate acid bound to it to help absorption and is also the most natural form of calcium out there (;

Cheers m8s !

- Hallucinogen .