When should I take calcium tablets during pregnancy?

Pregnant women should pay great attention to their nutrition during pregnancy, because the nutritional status at this time is not only closely related to their own physical health, but also to the healthy growth of the baby in their belly. Calcium is an essential element in human bones, so pregnant women should supplement the calcium they lack appropriately. The most direct way to supplement calcium is to take calcium tablets, but how long should pregnant women take calcium tablets?

What should pregnant women pay attention to when taking calcium tablets?

1. When pregnant women supplement calcium, they must consider the balance with other minerals. In fact, not only for pregnant women, but for anyone, more calcium supplementation is not necessarily better. Large amounts of calcium intake will affect the absorption of other trace elements, such as iron and zinc. Therefore, while you are supplementing calcium, it is best not to take iron or zinc supplements at the same time, so as to prevent the calcium tablets from interfering with the absorption of the latter two.

2. Pregnant women with diabetes should avoid calcium gluconate. Calcium gluconate is metabolized into glucose in your body, causing your blood sugar levels to increase.

3. Pregnant women with weak constitution should not choose calcium lactate. Calcium lactate will produce lactic acid after being metabolized in the human body, which will cause you fatigue and soreness.

4. Pregnant women with gastric acid deficiency should try not to use calcium carbonate. Since calcium carbonate dissolves better in a lower pH environment, it is not suitable for people with achlorhydria. If this is the case for you, you can choose organic calcium acids such as calcium lactate. Although this calcium tablet contains lower calcium content, it dissolves more easily than calcium carbonate and is not affected by stomach acid.

5. Pregnant women with renal failure should avoid calcium phosphate. Calcium phosphate is also not easy to dissolve, and it contains a considerable amount of phosphorus, so it is not suitable for people with renal failure.

6. Pregnant women with constipation should be careful with inorganic calcium. Inorganic calcium tablets may cause constipation in some pregnant women. If this is the case for you, you can choose amino acid chelated calcium. Amino acid chelated calcium has almost no precipitation in the intestines, so it will not cause constipation.

7. Many calcium tablets contain magnesium and other minerals. Pregnant women with renal insufficiency or restricted intake of certain nutrients should also be careful when choosing calcium tablets.