- *MSRP:
$35.99- Our Price:
- $20.88
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- UPC: 733739012371
- # N1237
NOW Foods Calcium Citrate Caps (240 Veg Capsules)
Synergistic Bone Metabolism Formula with Vitamin D-2, Magnesium, Zinc, Copper & Manganese
Calcium is the foundational building block for strong bones and teeth, but raw calcium alone cannot get the job done. If your body cannot absorb the mineral or properly direct it where it needs to go, traditional calcium pills offer little benefit. NOW® Calcium Citrate Caps solves this problem with an advanced bone metabolism complex that pairs premium, highly bioavailable calcium citrate with essential nutritional co-factors: Vitamin D-2, magnesium, zinc, copper, and manganese.
Key Product Highlights at a Glance:
- ✓ Optimal Bioavailability: Calcium citrate dissolves smoothly without needing harsh stomach acid, making it easy on sensitive digestive tracts.
- ✓ Synergistic Co-Factors: Supplies magnesium in a balanced ratio, along with Vitamin D-2 and chelated trace minerals to guide calcium straight into bone tissue.
- ✓ Gentle & Non-Constipating: Far less prone to causing bloating, gas, or constipation compared to standard rock-derived calcium carbonate.
- ✓ 100% Vegetarian & Vegan: Encapsulated in pure plant-derived veg capsules; free of gluten, dairy, soy, and GMOs.
Whether you are an active adult maintaining lifelong skeletal strength, a senior looking for an easily digestible calcium source, or someone taking acid-reducing medication, this complete bone support supplement offers clinical-grade nutrition you can count on every day.
Mechanism of Action: How Calcium Citrate & Bone Co-Factors Work
To appreciate why this formula stands out from mass-market calcium supplements, it helps to understand how minerals move through your digestive system into your skeletal matrix.
1. Superior Absorption Without Stomach Acid Dependence
The most common form of calcium on store shelves is calcium carbonate, which is essentially ground limestone. Calcium carbonate requires a dense flood of hydrochloric acid (stomach acid) to break apart into free ions that your intestines can take up. If you produce low stomach acid (a condition known as hypochlorhydria, common in adults over 50) or take antacids, H2 blockers, or proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), calcium carbonate passes through largely unabsorbed, frequently causing gas and hard stools.
In contrast, calcium citrate is a pre-acidified, organic mineral salt. It dissociates and dissolves effortlessly throughout a wide range of digestive pH levels, meaning your body absorbs it efficiently whether you take it on an empty stomach or with a meal. Clinical research published in the Journal of American College of Nutrition and an extensive meta-analysis in the American Journal of Therapeutics verified that calcium citrate is absorbed 22% to 27% better than calcium carbonate (Heaney et al., 2001; Sakhaee et al., 1999).
2. The Mineral Co-Factor Team: Why Calcium Needs Partners
Supplying your body with isolated calcium is like delivering bricks to a construction site without bricklayers or mortar. To lock calcium into the bone matrix and prevent it from collecting in soft tissues, your body relies on specific biochemical partners:
- Vitamin D-2 (Ergocalciferol): Acts as the biochemical gatekeeper in the small intestine. Vitamin D triggers the synthesis of calbindin-D9k, an intestinal transport protein that pulls calcium ions across the mucosal membrane into the bloodstream (Christakos et al., 2011).
- Magnesium: Essential for converting vitamin D into its active hormonal form (calcitriol). Magnesium controls parathyroid hormone (PTH) release, preventing excessive bone resorption while keeping bone crystals dense and pliable rather than brittle (Castiglioni et al., 2013).
- Zinc (Amino Acid Chelate): Serves as an indispensable cofactor for alkaline phosphatase, the primary enzyme your bone-building cells (osteoblasts) use to mineralize new bone tissue.
- Copper (Amino Acid Chelate): Powers lysyl oxidase, the enzyme responsible for cross-linking collagen and elastin fibers in bone. This flexible protein scaffolding gives your skeletal frame structural resilience against impacts and fractures (Saltman & Strause, 1993).
- Manganese (Amino Acid Chelate): Required for the production of mucopolysaccharides and proteoglycans, essential structural components of the bone remodeling matrix.
3. Kidney Protection: The Citrate Advantage
Many individuals worry that taking daily calcium might increase their risk of developing kidney stones. Here, the citrate component offers a unique protective benefit. Once absorbed and filtered into the urinary tract, citrate binds directly with urinary calcium, stopping it from bonding with oxalates. By forming soluble calcium citrate complexes in urine, it helps prevent the crystallization of insoluble calcium oxalate stones (Pak, 1994).
Supplement Facts & Complete Ingredients
Full label transparency verified directly against NOW Foods manufacturing specifications (SKU: 1237 / N1237):
Supplement Facts
Serving Size: 3 Veg Capsules | Servings Per Container: 80 (240 Capsules Total)
| Active Nutrient | Amount Per Serving | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|
| Vitamin D2 (as Ergocalciferol - vegetarian source) | 19 mcg (750 IU) | 95% |
| Calcium (from Calcium Citrate) | 450 mg | 35% |
| Magnesium (from Magnesium Oxide) | 225 mg | 54% |
| Zinc (from Zinc Amino Acid Chelate) | 11 mg | 100% |
| Copper (from Copper Amino Acid Chelate) | 0.75 mg | 83% |
| Manganese (from Manganese Amino Acid Chelate) | 4 mg | 174% |
Other Ingredients
Hypromellose (cellulose capsule), Cellulose Powder, Ascorbyl Palmitate (fat-soluble antioxidant vitamin C), and Silica.
Allergen & Purity Standards
- Not manufactured with wheat, gluten, soy, milk, egg, fish, shellfish, or tree nut ingredients.
- Produced in a certified GMP facility that adheres to stringent cross-contamination sanitation standards.
- Non-GMO Project verified ingredients; certified Kosher (Triangle K) and Halal compliant.
- 100% Vegan & Vegetarian formula using lichen/yeast-derived Vitamin D-2 rather than animal lanolin D-3.
NOW Brand Lab Purity & Strict Contaminant Testing
Because mined minerals can carry naturally occurring geologic impurities, testing standards for calcium supplements are critical. NOW Foods sets an industry-leading benchmark in quality control, operating an expansive, state-of-the-art analytical testing complex in Bloomingdale, Illinois.
1. ISO/IEC 17025:2017 Accredited In-House Laboratories
NOW’s private laboratory facilities are accredited by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) under ISO/IEC 17025:2017 standards for both Chemical (Certificate 6253.01) and Biological (Certificate 6253.02) testing. This represents the gold standard in laboratory competence, ensuring that internal test data matches the accuracy and rigor of major university and federal research centers.
2. Parts-Per-Billion Heavy Metal Screening (ICP-MS)
To screen out harmful environmental contaminants, NOW subjects incoming minerals to Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). This instrument detects heavy metal traces down to parts-per-billion (ppb) concentrations. Every lot of Calcium Citrate is strictly screened for:
- Lead (Pb): Screened well below United States Pharmacopeia (USP) and California Proposition 65 limits.
- Cadmium (Cd) & Mercury (Hg): Tested to confirm total absence of industrial heavy-metal accumulation.
- Arsenic (As): Verified safe to prevent contamination common in unrefined rock deposits.
3. Comprehensive Biological & Potency Verification
Every finished production lot undergoes over 19,000 monthly analytical evaluations across the NOW brand family. Advanced Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and biological plating confirm zero contamination from pathogens including Salmonella, E. coli, and Staphylococcus aureus. Furthermore, High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) verifies that the exact milligram weight of elemental calcium and mineral chelates on the label matches what is in every single capsule.
4. Independent Industry Self-Policing
NOW Foods actively protects consumers by regularly purchasing and testing suspicious, no-name supplement brands sold on online marketplaces, publishing the data to warn the public and inform regulatory bodies. When you choose NOW, you are backing an organization that leads the dietary supplement industry in honesty, verification, and safety.