Kirkland Signature Calcium Citrate 500mg (500 Tablets)

I was reluctant to switch from the brand of calcium carbonate I’ve been using faithfully for the past, oh, 20 years or so. But I finally decided it was time to try calcium citronate, because it’s reputedly easier for the body to absorb—which is a super important factor for bone health in older people, especially women. In the past, I tried calcium supplements on their own, but found they caused constipation. For a while I was trying to offset this effect by adding a separate magnesium supplement, but it was difficult to strike the right balance. Ultimately, I settled on a reputable vitamin brand containing nicely balanced proportions of calcium-magnesium-zinc. I was reluctant to upset this balance by trying a new brand. My old brand contains 333 mg calcium carbonate to 133 mg magnesium. By contrast, each pill of the Kirkland brand contains 250 mg calcium citronate to 40 mg magnesium. The proportions sounded really off to me, but I’m glad I tried Kirkland’s product. It does not cause constipation—whew!, and I will be getting better absorption and therefore bone health with calcium citronate. Some people experience the pill as difficult to swallow, but I have not had any problem swallowing these tablets. To get 1000 mg/day, I take two pills with my morning meal and two with my last meal of the day. (Each pill is 250 mg.) I find the price reasonable as well.

Effective product.But take note, as I have not yet seen this clearly addressed:Calcium Citrate contains only 21% of elemental calcium (calcium that is actually used by the body).Hence, (250 mg pill x 21 %) = 52.5 mg of usable calcium per pill.So depending on your needed calcium intake (or lack thereof) you may have to take 20 pills per day of this product to meet the above 1000 mg daily requirement. (And any overconsumption of the other listed ingredients contained per pill, may have to be considered.)Thus, in a real world application, based on one’s elimination diet (e.g. lack of dairy, lack of nutrients in hybrid vegetables, etc.) 500 pills will not last long, at all.I suspect many are under dosing calcium citrate based on a lack of knowledge and misdirected fears regarding calcification. If you lack calcium in your diet, you will need to make the necessary supplemental adjustment.Hopefully this clarifies for some.

Good, I recommend.

If you look at the photo of the label, you can see that you need to take 2 pills to hit 500 mg. I'm ok with this, but it does mean that this is only a 250 day supply for me. Due to the zinc, I have to take these after eating. Zinc is known to cause upset stomach/nausea and should always accompany food to minimize this risk. I find that if I've eaten a normal sized meal, then I don't have any stomach upset.According to my best friend, who is a registered dietitian working with patients daily, you can't absorb more than 500mg of calcium at a time. So if you want to take 1000mg per day, you'll need to space out your intake either 500mg in the morning and 500 in the evening or evenly throughout the day. Also, if you take an iron supplement or a multi-vitamin with iron in it, then you need to separate the ingestion of the calcium from the iron by 2.5-3 hours as taking them together greatly hinders their absorption.

This is a product that I've used for years. It's inexpensive and tastes good. if you live in a hot, humid climate, you should keep it in a dry place to avoid discoloration.

I feel like I get sick less often taking these.They are cheaper from Costco, but I have not renewed my membership this year.So this is almost as good.

I bought this product based on reviews. I have also read that calcium citrate is the most absorbable form of calcium. I have been taking these pills for a month now and I'm hoping that they are indeed doing what they are supposed to do. It doesn't say anywhere in the label that it has to be taken with meals but for me, I've found out that if I take it with an empty stomach, it makes my stomach churn and I feel nauseous. It gives me diarrhea too. If I take it with meals, though, none of that happens. For the price and quality, I think this is the best Calcium pills in the market right now.Info from Costco site:Supplement Facts:Serving Size: 2 TabletsServings Per Container: 125Two Tablets Contain - % Daily Value:Vitamin D3 800 I.U. - 200%, Vitamin B6 10 mg - 500%, Calcium 500 mg - 50%, Magnesium 80 mg - 20%, Zinc 10 mg - 66%, Copper 1 mg - 50%, Manganese 1 mg - 50%, Boron 1 mg - **.**Daily Value not established.Ingredients:Calcium Citrate, Cellulose Gel, Magnesium Oxide, Talc, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Croscarmellose Sodium, Titanium Dioxide (artificial color), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Magnesium Stearate, Zinc Oxide, Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol), Mineral Oil, Sodium Borate, Manganese Gluconate, Cupric Gluconate, Triethyl Citrate, Polyethylene Glycol, Corn Starch, Polysorbate 80, Soybean Oil, Carnauba Wax.

Listen to my wife. I was having leg cramps at night so bad that I would bolt out of the bed to stretch my calves because the pain was so bad. My wife instantly became an internet diagnostician and told me "You need to take calcium."...I love my wife, so I am always taking whatever herb or tea that she thinks will make me better so I ordered these pills. OMG! As long as I take these pills I don't get leg cramps at night anymore. If I run out of them about a week later the cramps come back. I'm sold, I'm going to keep taking them. I guess since I am no longer gnawing on the bones of my enemies I need something to put calcium back in to calm my muscles. Who would have figured?