You’ll find many choices for calcium supplements such as calcium carbonate, citrate, and gluconate. The most usable forms of calcium for your body are calcium citrate and calcium carbonate. A usable form means that the calcium is absorbed by your body and used by the bones and muscle instead of coming in your mouth and going out the other end wasted. That’s why the form of calcium is so important. Some are not absorbed as well as others. You may find calcium supplements made from oyster and bone meal but some of these products have been found to contain lead, mercury and arsenic so are not good selections.

Always look for the USP seal on the container which stands for United States Pharmacopeia to know it meets standards for disintegration. Then look at the Supplement Fact label and see how much elemental calcium is in each dose (elemental means the pure calcium, not the carbonate or citrate).