# Too much calcium?



## peaches41 (Nov 26, 2008)

I have b een wondering if it's possible to overdose on calcium? I take three 600 mg daily, and sometimes take Tums for indigestion (incidentally, on the Tums label it says you can take up to 16 (!) tablets a day! Now each Tums contains 500 mg, so if I take 1800 mg daily, then chew a few Tums, that can add up to quite a hefty intake.Any views?Eve


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

If you need an antacid on top of the calcium every day you may want to either switch to an aluminum based one (avoid magnesium based ones) or try something like Zantac or Prilosec to stop the acid production (and make sure you've had an endoscopy to make sure you don't have damage to your esophagus).Usually the recommended maximum for every day use (you can go over on an occasional basis, just not a daily one) is 2000 mgs per day.


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## crstar (Jun 29, 2009)

aluminum should b avoided.......Alzheimer's has been linked with aluminum deposits in the brain....for calcium carbonate supplements............unless the label says the amount is "elemental", u can figure out how much actual calcium there is in it, by mutliplying by .40.........calcium carbonate is 40% calcium, the rest is other parts of the chemical formula that gives u the carbonate part.........this is true for other forms of calcium & probably for all the other minerals, only the %'age is different for each kind.......like calcium lactate is really low, somewhere around 12% or there about, altho, i'm not sure, cause i try to go for the high elemental amounts........i looked it up many, many yrs ago........it was so low, i just stayed away from it....yes, u can overdose on calcium supplements, probably for all minerals, but for calcium, if u take too much, more than ur body can use, it can cause a reverse effect.........there's a system in the body, that when there is too much, ur body will start dumping alot of the calcium & u can end up not getting enough of something that's so important for u..........here's what i do, i keep track of how my fingernails r.........when u r not absorbing enough calcium, ur fingernails will chip, flake, snap off & break easily.........u won't b able to grow them........it can take a wk or 2 to c it, but it shows up........the thing about calcium is, to absorb it, u need all the co-factors to b able to absorb it........so when u take the calcium, take the others, there r many..........zinc, manganese, magnesium, boron, copper, silica & a number of others, that r in small amounts.........do some research.........no vitamin or mineral works without co-factors........this is true for every single one.......hope this helps, it's a complicated thing................chris......


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## blondeoverblue24 (Oct 20, 2009)

Alzheimer's has not been linked with aluminum deposits in the brain: http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_myth..._alzheimers.aspI agree with Kathleen and recommend seeing someone about your heartburn.


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## peaches41 (Nov 26, 2008)

Thanks for the advice


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## shyanna von banana (Jun 4, 2009)

yes you can. You can overdose on water. I found that if i take too much calcium it will cause the diarrhea.


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## overitnow (Nov 25, 2001)

I often wonder about absorbency as a factor in this. I know the calcium I take is almost completely absorbed, so it shouldn't do much for bowel problems one way or the other. It also helps explain why the magnesium, absorbed at the same rates, has never made my bowels worse, in spite of almost 12 years daily dosing. (I take 1000 mg Ca a day, although they are now suggesting 1250 for seniors.) I suspect that if the calcium you are taking is helping with the D, then that is from the unabsorbed part of it which, logically, ought to mean that you are safe at the higher dosages. If anyone has scientific info on this, one way or the other, that would be interesting to know. Mark


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## TanaG (Jul 11, 2009)

What I know is that you cannot really overdose with Calcium (big quantities are not recommended if you suffer with certain illnesses) cause the body takes what is needed and eliminates the rest. Or at least this is what the doctors told me. The only issue I see with that is if it ends up giving you constipation in case you take too much.


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