Calcium Substitutes?

[Sprue that :)]

I am in desperate need of some calcium supplements but am unsure of which ones are free of gluten/soy/casein ... any suggestions?

[moonlitemama]

I just started taking Citracal. Their website says "There are no food ingredients in Citracal tablets. It is gluten-free. It contains no wheat, barley, oats, rye, dairy products, dextrose, or yeast. Also, Citracal Kosher is certified Pareve by the Orthodox Union for those observing dietary guidelines."

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Hope that helps.

[tarnalberry]

Citrical is a good supplement, but doesn't have the magnesium needed to absorb the calcium it provides. (Even the version that has it doesn't have the 2:1 ca:mg ratio needed.) I would suggest either taking an additional mg supplement (the form of calcium in citrical is readily bioavailable), or look at other supplements. I take Rainbow Light, which is GFCFSF and has ca, vit D, and mg in good ratios, but has a couple of herbal additions which you may or may not want.

[hathor]

tarnalberry,

What is the name of the Rainbow Light supplement you take? How do you know it is soyfree -- does it say so on the label?

I tried a Rainbow Light product once and it turned out to have soy (and the label didn't mention soy).

I am using a different Rainbow Light supplement now that mentions not having soy, but it has twice as much magnesium as calcium. I'm unsure about continuing this for the long term.

Just what IS a good ratio of calcium to magnesium? Googling gives me different opinions, although the "twice as much calcium as magnesium" seems the most common. The Rainbow Light jar says the reversed ratio is good for those who need bone & muscle support, which is what I wanted. I admit I just got tired of reading labels and bought the first one that specifically said it didn't contain any of the things I can't have.

[hathor]

Ack! I just checked my Rainbow Light Calcium + bottle and they've changed the label since the first time I bought it. It originally said it was soy free. Now it says it has soy lecithin in the glaze.

Great -- maybe that is why my night sweats have come back, after I thought I had them under control. I had tried another Rainbow Light product as I mentioned before and had noticed my night sweats returning with a vengeance. I asked and was told there was soy in the glaze. I stopped them and felt better.

Forward a little bit and I find this bottle saying the supplement was free of a bunch of things including soy. I try it. My night sweats return a bit later but I figure it has to be something else. I'm wracking my brain and wondering if I have a problem with something else -- corn, legumes, whatever. And it turns out the product must have the same sort of soy product as the one I dropped before.

So, how many months have I been taking these things? I'm so steamed (pun intended )

[silly celiac]

I take Citracal in addition to a daily vitamin.

[Lisa]

I just wanted to slide in here and say that I LOVE your user name!

[melmak5]

I have had good luck with LifeTime calcium magnesium citrate.

Its acidified so its suppose to be the easiest to digest.

Its gluten, soy, dairy free.

Its more expensive, and its a liquid that you have to refrigerate after opening, but I like it.

[tarnalberry]

I use their Food-Based Calcium. It claims to be soy-free. (and diary and gluten and lactose and yeast free)

[hathor]

Looking on their web site, it does say that. However, the web site says the same thing for the Calcium + product I have been using, but the label NOW for the latter product has been changed to say that the glaze contains soy. I never noticed a change in the product itself (and the web site, as I said, still shows the old label information saying it is soy-free).

Soooo, despite the label, you might want to check with the company to see if the glaze contains soy lecithin, assuming this would be of concern to you. It was a third product I checked out with them that they had told me had a glaze containing soy. So it seems to be a pattern. All these products are listed as having "vegetable food glaze" on the web site.

Never hurts to be paranoid when it comes to things like this. At most you waste the time it takes to email them.