Dietary Supplements for Runners: Calcium
Guest Post
Contributed by Becca Addison, RD, CSSD
Read Becca’s advice on other dietary supplements:
Becca Addison is a registered dietitian with a specialist certification in sports nutrition. Her resume includes working at Harvard University with varsity athletics. She is also my friend and former professional running training partner!
Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body, and 99% of it is found in bone! It’s important for muscle function, nerve transmission, and cardiovascular health.
Bone mass continues to increase until around 30 years of age, so it’s very important for young adults to make the most of these years by consuming enough calcium.
After age 30, we still want to consume plenty of calcium because if we don’t get enough, our bodies will take it from our reservoir of bone. This can lead to stress fractures (which runners are already at higher risk for due to repetitive impact on our bones), as well as osteopenia and osteoporosis in older age.
Getting Enough Calcium
Since most calcium is in our bones, a blood test doesn’t tell you much about your calcium status. A better way to assess whether or not you’re consuming adequate calcium is to consider your day-to-day eating habits.
Aside from what the “Got Milk!” campaign would tell you, there are other sources of calcium besides dairy. Dairy is indeed a very convenient source of calcium (200-400 mg/cup of milk or yogurt), but other good sources include:
non-dairy milks
fortified cereals
tofu
beans
edamame
almonds
broccoli
chia seeds
Aim for 2-4 servings per day of these various foods.
Calcium Supplements
If you make an effort and still find it difficult to consume multiple servings of calcium per day, then consider a supplement. Calcium citrate and calcium carbonate are the best absorbed forms, and it’s important to take calcium carbonate alongside food because eating food stimulates stomach acid which helps increase absorption.
Our bodies can’t effectively absorb more than 500 mg of calcium at once, so choose a 500mg dose to avoid any extra going to waste.
Lastly, remember that if you’re supplementing both iron and calcium, avoid consuming these at the same time since calcium inhibits iron absorption. (Read: Dietary Supplements for Runners: IRON)
Avoid Contamination in Your Supplements
Make sure your supplements are third-party tested! Supplements aren’t regulated by the FDA, and are often contaminated. Look for NSF Certified for Sport, Informed-Sport, or USP verification on the bottle.
Some third-party tested brands I recommend are:
Thorne
Klean
Ritual
Care/of
Smarty Pants
Garden of Life
Rainbow Light
Olly
Centrum
Mega Foods (especially for Iron)
Nature Made
Are you looking for individualized guidance on anything nutrition related?
Whether it’s learning how to optimize your nutrition and hydration for recovery, understanding how food can impact your performance, or simply taking the stress out of nutrition choices, make sure to look for a Registered Dietitian. “Nutritionist” is not an adequate qualification!