Q: Ive read that calcium should be taken/ingested periodically during the day, as only a certain amount is absorbed at once. Please tell me if this is important and, if so, how much is advisable to take and at what intervals?

Answer :Bess Dawson-Hughes, MD, professor of medicine at Tufts and chief of the Bone Metabolism Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, responds: Calcium is better absorbed if taken in doses of 500 milligrams or less. So 1,000 milligrams as a supplement should be taken in doses of 500 milligrams twice daily.