Can Calcium Cause Constipation?
Yes, and Here's Why

When does calcium cause constipation?

Most of the time, constipation is caused by taking a calcium supplement than from calcium in foods.

Calcium from food is better absorbed

Most of us know that food is the best way to get calcium. If we eat the right types of food, it is possible to get all the calcium and other vitamins that our bodies need.

For instance, dark greens like spinach, mustard greens, collard greens and turnip greens contain as much as 100 mg. of calcium per one cup serving. For those who are able, dairy is also a renowned source of calcium, and is certainly better absorbed than calcium supplements.

You can look at this chart that shows the calcium content of various foods. Why is the calcium in food more bio-available?  Here it is in a nutshell.

Possessing a carbon atom

Utilizing energy from sunlight, plants take carbon dioxide from the air and bond the carbon molecule to other atoms. When the word "organic" is used scientifically, it actually connotes “having a carbon atom”.

The definition of food

When we eat plants (or animals whose nutrients originate in plants) our body derives the energy it needs to function by stripping off the carbon atom from the molecule.

You see, there is energy released in the chemical reaction when the carbon atom is removed from other elements. We then exhale carbon as carbon dioxide.

Once stripped of the carbon molecule, minerals once bound to carbon are in ionic form, and available to the body for as needed. The body can only utilize minerals if they are in ionic form. Plant based foods provide this, once the carbon atom is stripped off.

Calcium that is carbon based

Calcium carbonate is basically mined from rock, which is why it is not readily available to the body. Can calcium cause constipation when it is in this form? Yes, quite readily.

Calcium citrate is plant based, bound to a carbon molecule, which is what makes it more available to the body. There are other sources of calcium that are also plant derived. Coral is dead sea creatures that fed on a seaweed high in calcium. This makes it a plant based calcium.

Getting too much calcium

Can calcium cause constipation even if it is well absorbed? Yes, it still can.

However, there are other dangers to getting more calcium then we need. These include arthritis, hardening of the arteries, kidney stones and gall stones.

As with most calcium supplements, Super Sea Veg doesn't provide the 1 to 1 ratio of calcium to magnesium that Dr. Mercola and others now recommend. This is one of the reasons that Dr Mercola recommends taking a magnesium supplement.

According to Dr. Mercola, because most farm land is depleted of magnesium, most people don’t get the magnesium they need from their food.

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