What Every Woman Needs More Of

  Have you ever fell in love with a certain product only to find you can't get it?  Thats what happened to me.  The last time I went to the doctor, she told me women of my age (nice huh?) need extra calcium.  She put in a prescription for calcium pills.  I picked them up, but to be honest, I never opened the bottle.  I mean...don't I take enough vitamin supplements?  I did take her seriously though.  You see, I know there is only so much calcium I can get from yogurt and cheese.  I don't drink milk.  Well, I drink soy milks and creamers.  Does that count?  Its not a dairy product.  My multivitamin has calcium right?  Don't some fruits and veggies have calcium? UGH... I really didn't want to forced to drink cow's milk again.  I needed an option.  I like options.
   I was in GNC (General Nutrition Center) on the first week...you know?  Its when they offer the discounts.   The cashier asked if I wanted to try the Be-Balanced calcium chews.  They were in a bowl next to me as I purchased a few other items.  I thought, why not?  They were free.  So I tried one.  They were pretty tasty, not unlike a piece of caramel candy.  Besides, the doctor's message was echoing in my memory.  More calcium....You need more calcium.  You are getting old.  So, I bought a bag.  And I took one faithfully every day.  Unfortunately, I came close to running out too early to hit the discount week.  If you know me, you know I don't pay full price unless I absolutely have to.  I am a thrifty woman.
   Later, I was in the mall shopping for something (I don't know what) when I passed a store I hadn't heard of before called Vitamin World.  I was curious so I went in.  The prices were exceeding better than the GNC and they pretty much carried the same stuff.  I walked in just to look around.  Low and behold, they too had a calcium chew.  I picked up a bag.  I figured they were all the same.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that Vitamin World's calcium chews tasted even better than GNCs.  Well, time went on, and eventually I ran out of the Vitamin World chews.  I found myself without a chew and with no other reason to go all the way to the mall.  It was a bad weather day too.  I didn't really want to drive that far just for a bag of calcium chews.  Now what?
   Well, I had no choice about grocery shopping.  We had nothing in the house I could turn into a reasonably healthy dinner.  I headed out to the nearby Shopper's.  It's next to Target.  For some strange almost supernatural reason, I always need something at Target.  Well, you know what?  At Target, I noticed they also had a calcium chew.  This time, it was Caltrate.  On the package, it claimed to be the #1 selling brand.  I figured it would be worth it to give it a shot.  I mean, if everyone was buying it, it had to be good.  It wasn't.  Of the three I had tasted, it was the worst.  Still, until I could get to either GNC or better yet, Vitamin World, I would have a Caltrate chew once a day...because, after all, I am a woman of a certain age.  Still if I had to recommend a favorite calcium chew, I would put them in the following order.  Vitamin World first, then GNC, then lastly...Caltrate.

Vitamin World          GNC                           Caltrate
20 calories                15 calories                 15 calories
2 grams sugar            2 grams sugar          1 gram sugar
3 grams carb             3 grams carb             2 grams carb
500mg calcium          600mg calcium          600mg calcium
5mg Sodium              5mg Sodium               10mg Sodium
100iu VitaminD         800iu VitaminD           400iu Vitamin D
40mcg VitaminK       40mcg Vitamin K        Not listed