I'm taking calcium supplements now

[Robocop]

smart idea? i heard somewhere your body can only intake calcium until a certain age. even if its not true, im trying to intake as much as my body can without wasting the stuff. Anybody do this?

[William Eriepa]

Well my source on nutrients say that the average daily intake of calcium for most people is only 800 mg.
Also calcium is absorbed throughout your entire life (of course though, when you get older calcium absorption slows down along with everything else).
"Calcium depends on Vitamin D for effective absorption"
Sources of Vitamin D: Cheddar chesse, Tuna, Margarine, Salmon, Sardines.
"PRECAUTIONS
Very high doses of calcium might cause kidney stones and interfere with the absorption of other minerals"
Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.
Also personally I don't trust supplements any more, I used to take supplements but I found my piss to always be bright yellow (which apparently is a sign your not using all the nutrients you are taking in). Taking supplements can overdose you with nutrients which IS a bad thing. At least with food you can't overdose.

[Robocop]

well, thanks for the warning. these supplements contain 34%vitamin d 33%calcium 34% magnesium 33% zinc 33% copper 60% maganese and 168mcg of Boron. I dont know if these mean anything, lol, but is somehow taking one or two of these every other day alright? or is there a good schedule you adjusted to? Improving my bone strength is definitely something im serious about. and i sure as hell dont feel like passing gall stones.

[eXcessiveForce]

To absorb calcium you need Phosphorus as well. It makes a compound called tricalcium phosphate which is what is used to create bone. If you don't have enought of the phosphorus your body won't be absorbing anything.

Also, make sure you know what the source of the calcium is. Limestone is calcium and so are egg shells but your body can't absorb it so you could take tons of it and it won't help you a bit.

Becareful with zinc. High doses of zinc over an extended period of time can cause brain damage that can become permanent.

Bright yellow urine can also be a sign of dehydration.

[sslinky]

.
Also personally I don't trust supplements any more, I used to take supplements but I found my piss to always be bright yellow (which apparently is a sign your not using all the nutrients you are taking in). Taking supplements can overdose you with nutrients which IS a bad thing. At least with food you can't overdose.

That happened to me too. After a bit of research, it apparently seems to be caused by the body excreting excess vitamin B2, which appears bright yellow in colour. Apparently B2 is only held in small quantities in the body because it is easliy excreted, and is what makes urine yellow.
Supposedly excess levels of B2 are not toxic.

I always thought that white marks on the fingernails are a sign of calcium deficiency - I'm not sure how true this is though?

[Maxetai]

smart idea? i heard somewhere your body can only intake calcium until a certain age. even if its not true, im trying to intake as much as my body can without wasting the stuff. Anybody do this?

Forget the supplements Robocop and start eating fruits and vegetables (raw as in salads). You'll get all the calcium-and all other nutrients-you'll ever need.
Keep in mind that fruit should be eaten first if a cooked meal or a salad is eaten also. Even better is to eat fruit on an empty stomach.
Also, practice proper food combining, meaning do not mix proteins with starches (complex carbohydrates like bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, etc...) in the same meal.
Example:
For Breakfast: All the fruit you can eat after your morning workout.
For Lunch start with some fruit like apple, banana, etc. and then have a mixed raw vegetable salad with a protein (eggs, meat, fish, etc...).
For Dinner have a salad with starch (rice, bread, pasta, etc...).
Try it, you will feel better, more energy, and more importantly, your body will be able to digest and assimilate the food you eat in a much more efficient manner.

[sslinky]

Forget....

Why should you eat fruit first / on an empty stomach?

[sslinky]

In fact, why should you not mix carbs and protein?
Why should you eat after your morning workout - do you just mean so that you don't have to wait for it to digest?

[Maxetai]

Why should you eat fruit first / on an empty stomach?

Because fruit travels through the stomach and intestines faster than any other food.
So, if you eat fruit, say right after a non-fruit meal the fruit will literally crash with the other meal and fermentation will be the result and not proper digestion of the other meal or the fruit. This means that you will not get out of the meal or the fruit the nutritional value that you wanted.
This is the reason why many people have problems with fruit. They tend to eat it it as a dessert after a meal and think that fruit doesn't agree with them, when all along it's their bad habit of eating fruit after their meal.

[sslinky]

Because fruit travels through the stomach and intestines faster than any other food.
So, if you eat fruit, say right after a non-fruit meal the fruit will literally crash with the other meal and fermentation will be the result and not proper digestion of the other meal or the fruit. This means that you will not get out of the meal or the fruit the nutritional value that you wanted.
This is the reason why many people have problems with fruit. They tend to eat it it as a dessert after a meal and think that fruit doesn't agree with them, when all along it's their bad habit of eating fruit after their meal.

Ok, well I can see that it might take slightly longer to digest the fruit if it's mixed with the rest of the meal, but that shouldn't stop it or the rest of the meal being digested properly I wouldn't have thought?
Never had any problems eating it after the meal myself.
Not saying you're wrong, but I'm not convinced.

[Maxetai]

In fact, why should you not mix carbs and protein?
Why should you eat after your morning workout - do you just mean so that you don't have to wait for it to digest?

In a few words because the acid concentration to break down proteins in the stomach is about 10 times more concentrated than the acid concentration to break down the starches.
So, if you mix proteins and starches in the same meal, you are giving the stomach a mixed signal. The result is improper breakdown in the stomach of both the proteins and the starches.
This is the case even though most-if not all foods-contain protein and starch (and fat of course). The main difference is that a given food would contain a higher percentage of protein or starch, and this is what classiffies one food as a starch and another as a protein.
By the way, since legumes (beans) contain about the same ratio (percentage) of starch and protein, they tend to be difficult to digest for most people. The best way to eat beans is with a raw green leaf vegetable salad.
Why eat after your morning workout? Because your body has rested after sleep, and you will assist your metabolism more in burning fat by eating after yoiur workout. Keep in mind also that by eating, you need to wait perhaps even 2 hours in order to do a serious workout because blood is needed for digestion to take place. This is so true especially after a "full cooked meal". How does one feel after a big holiday meal? Right, they are "knocked out"!
Fruit again, is the least demanding food on our system, so if you must workout right after a meal, make a point for the meal to be of fruits with the juicy fruits first and bananas last.

[Maxetai]

Ok, well I can see that it might take slightly longer to digest the fruit if it's mixed with the rest of the meal, but that shouldn't stop it or the rest of the meal being digested properly I wouldn't have thought?
Never had any problems eating it after the meal myself.
Not saying you're wrong, but I'm not convinced.

Try eating the fruit first and you'll see what I mean!

[sslinky]

In a few words because the acid concentration to break down proteins in the stomach is about 10 times more concentrated than the acid concentration to break down the starches.
So, if you mix proteins and starches in the same meal, you are giving the stomach a mixed signal. The result is improper breakdown in the stomach of both the proteins and the starches.
This is the case even though most-if not all foods-contain protein and starch (and fat of course). The main difference is that a given food would contain a higher percentage of protein or starch, and this is what classiffies one food as a starch and another as a protein.
By the way, since legumes (beans) contain about the same ratio (percentage) of starch and protein, they tend to be difficult to digest for most people. The best way to eat beans is with a raw green leaf vegetable salad.
Why eat after your morning workout? Because your body has rested after sleep, and you will assist your metabolism more in burning fat by eating after yoiur workout. Keep in mind also that by eating, you need to wait perhaps even 2 hours in order to do a serious workout because blood is needed for digestion to take place. This is so true especially after a "full cooked meal". How does one feel after a big holiday meal? Right, they are "knocked out"!
Fruit again, is the least demanding food on our system, so if you must workout right after a meal, make a point for the meal to be of fruits with the juicy fruits first and bananas last.

I don't get this acid concentration thing. Surely your stomach just keeps producing acid until the food is broken down whatever it is. Maybe some foods are harder to break down than others, but that shouldn't stop other foods being broken down if they are mixed together or whatever.

Also, I would say it's better to spread your carbs over various meals, not eat them all in one, so that you get a more even supply of energy over the day.

Re: the morning exercise thing... I know some people do it, but I usually wake up starving (despite eating loads the day before!) so I prefer to eat first to top up my energy levels and wait until I exercise. It's good to eat fruit immediately after exercise to restore glycogen levels because fruit has a high glycemic index as it's carbs are in the form of fructose, so it can replenish depleted levels quickly - and your muscles have a high glycogen uptake rate immediately after exercise.

Hmm, well I've never heard of the things you mentioned (which is of course not to say you are wrong), but personally I wouldn't advise people to eat like that. Part of eating is also palatability, so for example eating meals of just carbs or just protein often aren't that palatable because they are not so diverse, which makes you less likely to stick to a diet. Interesting, what you said though...

[Maxetai]

I wish you well sslinky, and all the best in your training!

[sslinky]

Thanks, you too.