How should pregnant women choose calcium tablets? Criteria for choosing calcium supplement products during pregnancy

Pregnant mothers consume more calcium during pregnancy than the average person, so calcium supplementation during pregnancy is very necessary. During pregnancy, you can not only take calcium tablets to supplement calcium, but also eat more foods high in calcium in daily life.

How to choose calcium tablets for pregnant women

When buying calcium preparations during pregnancy, you should pay attention to whether they have the approval number of the Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China and the approval number of the Ministry of Health and Health. You must buy calcium supplements or health products from regular manufacturers in pharmacies. You should pay attention to details such as the manufacturer, factory address, production date, shelf life, batch number, approval number, etc. to avoid buying counterfeit products. Calcium supplements do not necessarily require a doctor's prescription, but if you are worried, you can ask the doctor to prescribe and buy them in the hospital. Many manufacturers have advertised that their calcium tablets have a high absorption rate, even up to 95%. In fact, the absorption rate of calcium preparations is roughly the same, for example, calcium carbonate is 39%, calcium lactate is 32%, and calcium gluconate is 27%. Therefore, expectant mothers should not be misled by a variety of advertisements and should choose calcium preparations that are suitable for them.

Criteria for choosing calcium supplement products during pregnancy

Standard 1

The ideal calcium preparation should have an appropriate elemental calcium content. The Chinese Nutrition Society recommends that the appropriate calcium intake for pregnant women is 1000-1200 mg. However, a dietary survey of pregnant women shows that the average daily calcium intake is only about 479 mg. Therefore, Chinese pregnant women should take an additional 521-721 mg of elemental calcium every day. When choosing calcium supplement products, you should choose a high-concentration calcium source with a high elemental calcium content, such as calcium carbonate, to fully meet the calcium supplementation needs, thereby reducing the gastrointestinal burden caused by taking too many tablets.

Standard 2

An ideal calcium preparation should contain an appropriate amount of vitamin D. Vitamin D can help intestinal calcium absorption, promote calcium ion deposition in bones, and reduce the excretion of calcium ions in the kidneys. Vitamin D deficiency can reduce the calcium absorption rate to below 10%. If pregnant women have sufficient vitamin D, it will help prevent rickets in children. Therefore, ensuring an appropriate intake of vitamin D is particularly important for pregnant women. For calcium supplementation, it is best to choose calcium preparations containing vitamin D.

Standard 3

An ideal calcium supplement should be safe and reliable, and suitable for a wide range of people. Pregnancy is a period of high sensitivity, so when choosing a calcium source, you must consider whether it is safe and reliable. Calcium supplements derived from animal bones, oyster shells, scallop shells, and pearls may increase the content of lead and other heavy metals due to grassland and seawater pollution. Long-term use can easily cause heavy metal poisoning (especially lead) in pregnant women. Pure, high-concentration calcium carbonate is a more ideal choice. It does not contain sugar, sodium, fat, or cholesterol, and is suitable for a wide range of people.

Standard 4

The ideal calcium supplement should have good clinical efficacy verified by evidence-based medicine and will undergo rigorous clinical verification. Calcium carbonate was first used in clinical research and has been proven to be effective. It has become a calcium supplement recommended by the United States Pharmacopoeia, the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, etc., and has a strong prescription basis.

Standard 5

The ideal calcium supplement should be cost-effective. Calcium supplementation for pregnant women should be carried out throughout the four stages of early pregnancy, mid-pregnancy, late pregnancy and postpartum period. The cost-effectiveness of long-term calcium supplementation is also the primary consideration. If you need to supplement 600 mg of elemental calcium per day, the higher the elemental calcium content of each calcium tablet, the fewer tablets or times you can take per day, which is relatively more economical and convenient.

Ten out of ten pregnant mothers are calcium deficient

The formation and development of fetal bone tissue requires calcium, and pregnant women also need a lot of calcium for their physiological metabolism. If the calcium content in the diet is insufficient or there is a lack of sunlight, the blood calcium level of pregnant women will decrease. Pregnant women with calcium deficiency are prone to bone and tooth decalcification, causing back disease, leg disease, bone pain, hand and foot cramps, and tooth loss. In severe cases, osteomalacia, pelvic deformation, and dystocia may occur. Fetuses with calcium deficiency are very likely to suffer from rickets such as skull softening, square skull, abnormal closure of the anterior fontanelle, rib beads, pigeon chest, or funnel brain after birth.

The Chinese Nutrition Society recommends the following calcium intake standards for pregnant women: 1000 mg per day during the 4th to 6th month of pregnancy and 1500 mg per day during the 7th to 9th month of pregnancy, of which 400-500 mg is for the baby.

Common misunderstandings about calcium supplementation for pregnant women

Taking calcium and iron supplements at the same time is wrong! Calcium will affect the absorption of iron. Taking calcium tablets on an empty stomach is wrong! It is not conducive to calcium absorption. Taking calcium and multivitamin tablets together is wrong! Calcium will inhibit the absorption of vitamins. Drinking tea immediately after taking calcium tablets is wrong! Tea affects calcium absorption. Bone soup is the best calcium supplement, wrong! 1 kg of meat bones boiled for 2 hours, the soup contains only about 20 mg of calcium, and it contains a lot of fat.