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Chocolate calcium chews: Ratings, Claims
Have some calcium with your chocolate MMM ... nutrients Like the other supplements, Adora had the claimed amount of calcium. Apparently, more companies are agreeing with Dr. Mary Poppins: A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Our lab tested and staff members tasted five brands of chewable chocolates with calcium carbonate (a good source of calcium that's best taken with food).All claim to have 500 milligrams of calcium per chew. Soon, all will claim to have 200 international units (IU) of vitamin D per chew. (Two brands are reformulating to boost vitamin D from 100 to 200 IU.) Vitamin D is essential to calcium metabolism and may have anticancer properties.Most people would take two chews a day to reach recommended nutrient levels. Men under age 50 and premenopausal women require 1,000 mg of calcium a day; most older men and postmenopausal women, 1,200 mg. Current guidelines call for 200 to 400 IU of vitamin D per day for adults, but a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine recommended more: 800 to 1,000 IU.In our tests, each chew met its claim for calcium and had at least as much vitamin D as labeled.Note that one is sugar free but not lower in calories: All the chews are 20 to 30 calories each.CR's take. If you don't get enough calcium and D in your diet (dairy products provide calcium; fatty fish and sunlight supply vitamin D), these supplements can be useful. But don't overdo it: More than 2,500 mg of calcium per day can raise the risk of kidney stones.Buy by taste and price. Cost is based on suggested retail prices for common sizes, ranging from 150 pieces per package to 30 per package.
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