Is Taking Tums for Calcium OK? Are Tums a good source of calcium?
Tums were originally formulated as an over-the-counter aid in combating simple heartburn, or gastritis. The increased interest in the need for dietary calcium, coupled with the fact that the antacid in Tums is calcium carbonate, opened new avenues for marketing this product. A typical Tums contains 500 milligrams of calcium carbonate, which translates to 200 milligrams of calcium (about 40% of the weight of calcium carbonate comes from the calcium). This means that one Tums contains 20% of the Daily Value for calcium, making these tablets a good source of supplementary calcium. The other ingredients in this antacid include sucrose, artificial flavoring and coloring. I acknowledge the convenience of taking a product such as Tums, but you need to be made aware of a few things: First, when taking Tums or some generic equivalent, don t overdo it, especially around mealtime. The initial stage of digestion requires an acid environment to begin the separation of foods into their individual nu
