Calcium gives you strength

Your parents were right when they told you that if you want strong bones and teeth, drink lots of milk. Well, milk is packed with lots of calcium making this mineral a very important component in one’s every day diet.

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body and is mostly found in the body’s bones and teeth. It is an integral part of bone structure, providing a rigid frame that holds the body upright and serves as attachment points for muscles, making motion possible. Also, Calcium serves as a calcium bank, offering a readily available source of the mineral to the body fluids should a drop in blood calcium occurs.

Calcium’s major roles in the body

Most of the body’s calcium is found in bones and teeth where it provides a rigid structure and strength. Bones are gaining and losing minerals continuously in an ongoing process of remodelling. Growing children gain more bone than they lose, and healthy adults maintain a reasonable balance. If calcium intake is inadequate, blood calcium remains normal, but at the expense of bone loss, which can lead to osteoporosis

Did you know that Calcium is not only good for your bones and teeth? (Now you can tell your parents a thing or two...) Calcium participates in the regulation of muscle contraction, the clotting of blood, the transmission of nerve impulses, the secretion of hormones, and the activation of some enzyme reactions.

Calcium may also protect against hypertension. Some research also suggests protective relationship between dietary calcium and blood cholesterol, diabetes and colon cancer.

This mineral may also play a role in maintaining a healthy body weight. In particular calcium from dairy foods seems to exert greater effects on body weight than calcium in supplement form. Notably, calcium intake does not simply reflect a healthy lifestyle; the relationship remains strong even when factors such as energy intake and exercise are considered.

Calcium recommendation and Sources

The recommendations set for Calcium for adolescents have been set high at 1300milligram daily up to the age of 18 years old. Between the ages of 19 and 50, recommendations are lowered to 1000 milligrams a day; for later life, recommendations are raised again to 1200 milligrams a day to minimize the bone loss that tends to occur later in life. High intakes of dietary protein and sodium increase calcium losses, but whether these losses impair bone development remains unclear.

A 1000mg of Calcium is approximately 3 cups of milk or 5 cups of broccoli or 2 ½ cups yogurt or 120g cheese or 90g sardines. So you can increase your intake of calcium by eating a variety of calcium rich food.

Calcium is found most abundantly in milk and milk products. If you do not prefer drinking milk, cheese and yogurt are great options. Alternatively, milk and milk products can be concealed in foods. Powdered fat-free milk can be added to casseroles, soups, and other mixed dishes during preparation; 5 heaped tablespoons offer the equivalent amount of a cup of milk.

Calcium is also found in other food sources. Some nuts (such as almonds), and some seeds (such as sesame seeds) can also supply calcium.

Among the vegetables, mustard, turnip greens, kale, parsley and broccoli are good sources of calcium. Some dark green leafy vegetables, such as spinach appear calcium rich but actually provide little, if any calcium to the body because of binders they contain. Eight cups of spinach is six times as much calcium as 1 cup milk.

Oysters are also good sources of calcium, as are fresh fish eaten with their bones, such as canned sardines.

Look also out for calcium fortified cereals and high calcium milk.

Calcium deficiency

A low calcium intake during the growing years limits the bones ability to reach their optimal mass and density. Most people achieve a peak bone mass by their late 20s, and dense bones best protects against age related bone loss and fractures. All adults lose bone as they grow older, beginning between the ages of 30s and 40s. Should bone losses reach a point of causing fractures under common everyday stresses, the condition is known as osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is silent and does not have symptoms such as shortness of breath, skin lesion, pain, tiredness etc; the body sends no signal saying bones are losing calcium, as a result, their integrity. Blood samples also offer no clues because blood calcium remains normal regardless bone content. Thus is it important to have a bone density check routinely.

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