Vitamins

[barb hankins]

I'm close to osteoporosis and am wondering if the calcium patches have better absorbsion than pills.

[trents]

Welcome to the forum, @barb hankins!

Tell us about yourself. Have you been officially diagnosed with celiac disease? If so, how long ago? Have you been following a strict gluten free diet?

For bone health, it's important to be getting plenty of magnesium and D3 and not just calcium. 

Are you on medication for acid reflux disease by any chance? Such meds can lower stomach acid and inhibit the absorption of calcium. Calcium is basic in it's PH (the opposite of acidic). Taking calcium supplements can actually be counterproductive to absorbing calcium, therefore. In addition to the villous atrophy caused by celiac disease, poor calcium absorption can be caused by low acid levels in the gut. If you are using calcium supplements, it might be wise to make sure your are consuming acidic things at the same time like OJ or tomato juice or vitamin C tabs. I think some calcium supplements come with vitamin C combined for that reason.

Edited August 13 by trents

[barb hankins]

I am close to osteoporosis. Are calcium patches better than pills for absorption?

[Scott Adams]

I'm not sure about the absorption difference, but I've been taking Citracal Maximum Plus from Costco for years now, but my gut healed decades ago, so I guess this would depend on how long you've been gluten-free.