Are you taking some extra calcium? Perhaps you don’t eat animal products. What are your best choices for vegan calcium supplements?
This comprehensive guide to calcium supplements discusses best choices for vegans. It provides useful information for anyone who is trying to find the best calcium supplement.
The good news is that there are many vegan calcium supplements out there.
Let’s find out your choices.
Table of Contents
Where Does Calcium Come From?
Calcium is an element that is present all throughout nature. There are a lot of places where a manufacturer might get the calcium they use in a supplement.
Calcium can come from all sorts of animal products, such as ground bones, eggshells, fishbones, crustacean shells or coral.
Calcium supplements might also come from non-animal sources like dolomite, limestone, marble and algae (1).
To be on the safe side check the product label to see if it is certified vegan.
Marine Sources of Calcium
Fishbones, shellfish and crustacean shells, and coral and seaweed (algae) are the main sources of calcium that come from the sea (1). Of all of these sources, the only one that is really vegan is seaweed, or algae.
Algae
Algae is not a plant or an animal. It comes from a completely different group of organisms called protists. Vegan and vegetarian product frequently use algae as an ingredient (2).
Two brand names that carry vegan calcium derived from algae include:
New Chapter sells a calcium supplement made with algae, but it does not provide any info about being certified vegan. It’s unknown whether any of their ingredients come from animal sources.
AlgaeCal is a popular calcium supplement. It is NOT vegan. AlgaeCal contains vitamin D derived from lanolin in sheep’s wool (3).
Coral
Many people think of coral as either a plant, or some type of mineral deposit that builds up in the oceans. However, coral is actually an animal (4). Each piece of coral consists of hundreds or thousands of individual animals. These creatures have tentacles to catch their food, and stomachs to digest their prey.
Because they are animals, calcium made from coral is not vegan.
Shells and Fishbones
Fishbones and shells from crustaceans or mollusks have a high content of bioavailable calcium. This calcium is not vegan because it comes from these living creatures (1).
Calcium paired with organic acids
Nowadays, the most common calcium supplements are paired with some type of organic acid. This could be citrate, malate, lactate, glucarate, and others. These formulas may be vegan if the ingredients come from vegan sources.
If there are other nutrients or extra ingredients included, some of these might include animal products. For example, some formulas include chondroitin sulfate or collagen. These ingredients come from animals.
Calcium combined with an organic acid is generally well absorbed, even if you do not take it with a meal. You can absorb this form without stomach acid. You can also get extra benefits depending on which organic acid it contains.
For instance, citric and malic acid can help to prevent kidney stones from forming (5). Glucaric acid is great for helping your liver to break down toxins (6).
Calcium Carbonate and Tricalcium Phosphate
Be sure to check labels for a calcium carbonate product to make sure it does not come from animals. Calcium carbonate often comes from minerals, but it can also come from eggshells, oyster shells, crustacean shells and animal bones (7).
You need stomach acid in order to absorb calcium carbonate efficiently. If you have any symptoms of low stomach acid, it might be best to choose another type of calcium supplement.
Tricalcium or dicalcium phosphate is just like it sounds, calcium bound up with phosphate molecules. The phosphate used in these supplements might come from rocks, but it can also come from ground up animal bones (8). It’s important to check labels to see if it is vegan.
Many Americans get plenty of phosphates in their diet, perhaps even more than they need. If you already take in plenty of phosphate, I would choose another type of calcium supplement.
However, there are those who avoid dairy, meats and phosphorylated beverages like soda. They might actually need some extra phosphate to keep strong bones (8). In these cases it makes sense to use a calcium phosphate supplement.
Microcrystalline Hydroxyapatite (MCHC)
Your body lays down new bone in a matrix called hydroxyapatite. This lattice-like substance contains all the minerals and proteins found in bone. You can buy supplements that contain a ground down version of this whole bone matrix, called microcrystalline hydroxyapatite, or MCHC.
A meta-analysis published in 2009 shows a significantly improved BMD from hydroxyapatite supplements compared to calcium carbonate (9).
Other studies show that MCHC and calcium citrate have an equivalent effect on bone turnover markers measured after 8 hours, and after 3 months (10).
However, MCHC is not an appropriate supplement for the vegan diet. It is derived from ground up animal bones, usually bovine (cows, etc).
You might see vegan hydroxyapatite used in toothpastes. This is a different product from the one used in calcium supplements.
How To Find Vegan Calcium Supplements
Here are some of the companies that sell vegan calcium supplements:
- Integrative Therapeutics
- Pure Encapsulations
- Standard Process
- Body Bio
- Global Healing Center
- NOW Foods
- Solaray
- Vital Nutrients
- Salus/Floradix
Not all products from these companies are vegan, so make sure to check the certification on the specific product of interest.
There are many companies selling calcium supplements which might meet the standards for vegetarianism, but are not necessarily vegan.
Where do you find quality supplements? One option is to purchase your supplements through Fullscript. Fullscript vets the companies whose products they carry. You can be sure they contain what it says on the label, and they have been processed, stored and shipped in a way that preserves the quality of the product.
On Fullscript, you can get a detailed description of a product, and it’s easy to see if they are certified vegan. They have an extensive catalog representing over 400 different companies.
Fullscript carries supplements from all of the companies listed above. If you want to try them out, I invite you to order through my Fullscript dispensary. You will receive a 15% discount on anything available in their catalog. (Disclosure: I receive a small percentage of each sale, at no cost to you. Contact me if you want more details.)
Final Thoughts
Calcium is an element that is present throughout nature. Supplements come from both mineral, plant and animal sources. The main plant source of calcium is algae. Minerals like limestone or marble are also vegan sources of calcium.
Supplement makers combine calcium with organic acids, phosphate and carbonate. Each of these has its pros and cons, so you can decide which is right for you. You will also find calcium supplements in the form of microcrystalline hydroxyapatite. This substance usually comes from ground animal bones, so it is not considered vegan.
If you are wondering where to buy high quality supplements of any kind, check out Fullscript. Use the sign-up link in the article above and get 15% off anything you buy from their catalog.