Calcium (oral salts: carbonate, citrate, lactate, gluconate) × Zinc (oral salts: picolinate, citrate, gluconate, oxide, acetate)
ModerateMineral supplements. Calcium×Mineral supplements. Trace elements
Updated · Methodology
Mechanism
Calcium at supplement doses reduces zinc absorption, especially when dietary zinc is already low and when both land in the same dose. The effect grows with phytate from wholegrains and pulses, which binds zinc on its own account.
Symptoms
Signs of mild zinc deficiency: dulled taste, brittle nails, dermatitis in skin folds. Without labs these are indistinguishable from other causes.
Management
Take them at different times of day. On a vegetarian diet, where phytate already limits zinc, the separation matters more. An ordinary multivitamin with moderate amounts of both does not pose the same problem as two high-dose supplements at once.
Check the full regimen, not just this pair
Opens the checker with these two drugs prefilled. Add the rest of the regimen and recompute additive risks.
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Sources
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Calcium – Health Professional Fact Sheet (2025)– NIH ODS, Calcium, Interactions with Medications
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Zinc – Health Professional Fact Sheet (2025)– NIH ODS, Zinc, Health Risks from Excessive Zinc