Key Factors:
- Calcium is important for sturdy bones and enamel — and likewise helps muscle tissue, nerves, and coronary heart well being.
- You may get calcium from meals like dairy, leafy greens, fortified drinks, tofu, and canned fish with bones.
- Your physique absorbs calcium finest in smaller doses (500 milligrams [mg] or much less) and when taken with meals.
- Calcium dietary supplements might assist some individuals however can have dangers — discuss to your physician earlier than beginning one.
- A food regimen too low in calcium might elevate your threat for osteoporosis and kidney stones.
- An excessive amount of calcium (particularly from dietary supplements) can result in unintended effects like constipation and even coronary heart points.
Nutritional vitamins and minerals are important for general well being. Whereas nutritional vitamins are natural compounds, minerals are inorganic parts that our our bodies have to perform correctly. They assist maintain your bones, muscle tissue, coronary heart, and mind working the best way they need to — and play key roles in making hormones and enzymes, too.
There are two classes of minerals, in response to MedlinePlus:
Macrominerals, which your physique wants in bigger quantities, embrace calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride, and sulfur.
Hint minerals, wanted in smaller quantities, embrace iron, manganese, copper, iodine, zinc, cobalt, fluoride, and selenium.
Let’s begin with the primary mineral on the checklist — calcium!
What calcium does for the physique
Most individuals consider sturdy bones after they hear the phrase calcium — and for good motive. Calcium is important for constructing and sustaining wholesome bones and enamel. However its function within the physique goes far past your skeleton.
Calcium helps your muscle tissue contract, assists with blood clotting, retains your coronary heart rhythm regular, permits nerves to ship and obtain alerts, and performs a component in releasing hormones and different essential chemical substances.
It’s the most ample mineral within the physique, and about 98% of it’s saved in your bones and enamel — which is a part of what makes them so sturdy. However calcium additionally circulates in your bloodstream, the place it performs lots of its different important capabilities.
As a result of your physique wants a gradual provide of calcium within the blood, it has a intelligent system for managing ranges. If calcium ranges drop too low, a hormone known as parathyroid hormone (PTH) alerts your bones to launch calcium into the blood. It additionally tells your kidneys to carry on to extra calcium as a substitute of passing it into the urine.
When there’s sufficient calcium in your blood, one other hormone — calcitonin — steps in. It does the alternative: it slows the discharge of calcium out of your bones and encourages your kidneys to excrete extra calcium within the urine.
Calcium and bone well being
Bone resides tissue — it’s always being constructed up and damaged down in a course of known as transforming. Specialised bone cells deal with this job:
- Osteoblasts construct new bone
- Osteoclasts break down previous bone
After about age 30, bones start to step by step lose calcium, and bone loss tends to hurry up throughout center age. This pure course of can result in osteoporosis — a situation that causes bones to turn into weak and fragile — and raises the danger of fractures. In response to the Workplace of Dietary Dietary supplements (ODS) on the Nationwide Institutes of Well being, bone loss can have an effect on each ladies and men.
A bone mineral density check may help assess how sturdy your bones are and whether or not you’re in danger for osteoporosis.
It’d appear to be taking calcium dietary supplements would assist stop weak bones, however the analysis right here isn’t completely constant. Whereas some research don’t present a transparent profit in stopping bone fractures throughout the final inhabitants, there is proof that calcium dietary supplements might assist frail older adults, particularly when paired with vitamin D.
Calcium and coronary heart well being
There’s some proof that taking calcium dietary supplements — versus getting calcium from meals — might improve the danger of coronary heart illness in each women and men. One attainable motive? Hypercalcemia, or an excessive amount of calcium within the blood, which may contribute to blood clots or hardening of the arteries (vascular calcification).
It’s essential to notice that the analysis just isn’t conclusive, and extra research are wanted to completely perceive the hyperlink between calcium dietary supplements and coronary heart well being. For now, consultants usually advocate aiming to get most of your calcium from meals, and utilizing dietary supplements solely when wanted.
Can calcium assist stop colorectal most cancers?
Research have proven that rising calcium consumption by about 300 mg per day — roughly the quantity in a single giant glass of milk — is related to as much as a 17% decrease threat of colorectal most cancers.
One attainable rationalization is that calcium might bind to dangerous substances — corresponding to bile acids — within the colon, stopping them from damaging the cells that line the intestinal wall. Some researchers additionally suppose that useful micro organism in dairy meals may play a task in defending towards the event of most cancers cells.
Whereas extra analysis is required, this potential profit is another reason to intention for sufficient calcium in your food regimen.
Calcium and kidney stones: what to know
In relation to kidney stones, calcium just isn’t the enemy — in actual fact, it might be a part of the answer. In response to the Nationwide Kidney Basis, a low-calcium food regimen can truly improve the danger of growing calcium-oxalate kidney stones.
In a research of greater than 45,000 males, those that drank two or extra 8-ounce glasses of skim milk per day had a 42% decrease threat of kidney stones in contrast with males who drank lower than one glass per 30 days. Equally, consuming cottage cheese or ricotta cheese as soon as every week was linked to a lowered threat.
Why? It’s believed that calcium from meals binds to oxalates within the digestive tract. This reduces oxalate absorption and makes it much less seemingly that calcium-oxalate stones will kind. Specialists advocate consuming calcium-rich meals similtaneously oxalate-containing meals (like spinach, beets, or nuts) to decrease your stone threat.
Along with defending towards kidney stones, calcium may assist stop:
- Preeclampsia, a critical complication that may happen in late being pregnant
- Metabolic syndrome in ladies, although the profit hasn’t been clearly proven in males
Calcium-rich meals and complement choices
Calcium is present in a wide range of meals — and never simply dairy. Listed below are some high sources:
- Milk and fortified plant-based milks (like soy, almond, or oat milk)
- Yogurt
- Cheese
- Fortified fruit juices
- Tofu processed with calcium
- Canned sardines and salmon with bones
- Greens corresponding to kale, broccoli, Chinese language cabbage, and collard greens
- Nuts and seeds, together with almonds, Brazil nuts, and sunflower seeds
- Dried beans
- Blackstrap molasses
- Fortified cereals and breads
Calcium can be accessible in complement kind — together with multivitamin/mineral combos, calcium with vitamin D, or dietary supplements with simply calcium alone.
The 2 primary forms of calcium dietary supplements are:
- Calcium carbonate, which is finest absorbed when taken with meals (and can be present in some antacids)
- Calcium citrate, which will be taken with or with out meals and could also be higher for individuals with lowered abdomen acid
Really useful each day calcium consumption
Your calcium wants fluctuate relying in your age, intercourse, and life stage. Listed below are the present Really useful Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for adults:
- Males, 19–70 years: 1,000 mg per day
- Males, 71 and older: 1,200 mg per day
- Ladies, 19–50 years: 1,000 mg per day
- Ladies, 51 and older: 1,200 mg per day
- Pregnant and lactating ladies (ages 19–50): 1,000 mg per day
These suggestions replicate the quantity wanted to keep up bone well being and help different essential bodily capabilities. Most individuals can meet their wants by means of meals, however some might have dietary supplements if their consumption falls brief.
Signs of calcium deficiency
When your physique doesn’t get sufficient calcium over time, it could actually result in critical well being issues. These embrace:
- Osteoporosis — a situation that causes bones to turn into weak and fragile, rising the danger of fractures
- Rickets — tender, weak bones in kids, typically as a consequence of each calcium and vitamin D deficiency
- Osteomalacia — tender bones in adults (and generally kids), sometimes attributable to a scarcity of calcium or vitamin D
There’s additionally a situation known as hypocalcemia, which implies the extent of calcium in your blood is just too low. This could outcome from having your thyroid gland eliminated, problems of parathyroid hormone or vitamin D, kidney illness, or sure medicines.
Signs of hypocalcemia can embrace:
- Muscle cramps or spasms
- Tingling within the lips, fingers, and toes
- Stiff, achy muscle tissue
- Confusion or issue pondering clearly
- Melancholy or temper adjustments
- Forgetfulness
Some teams usually tend to have a calcium deficiency, together with:
- Postmenopausal ladies
- Individuals who keep away from dairy meals
- Individuals with low vitamin D ranges or restricted solar publicity
Signs of an excessive amount of calcium (toxicity)
Whereas calcium is important for well being, an excessive amount of will be dangerous — particularly when taken in giant quantities by means of dietary supplements. Extra calcium within the physique can result in two situations:
- Hypercalcemia — an excessive amount of calcium within the blood
- Hypercalciuria — an excessive amount of calcium within the urine
These situations are uncommon in wholesome individuals, however people with most cancers or major hyperparathyroidism are at increased threat.
Signs of calcium overload can embrace:
- Weak spot and fatigue
- Poor muscle tone
- Bone ache
- Chest ache or palpitations
- Abdomen upset
- Nausea and vomiting
- Constipation
- Kidney issues (corresponding to kidney stones or impaired perform)
To assist stop toxicity, the Tolerable Higher Consumption Stage (UL) for calcium is:
- 2,500 mg per day for adults ages 19–50
- 2,000 mg per day for adults over 50
These limits apply to the whole calcium you get from each meals and dietary supplements.
Calcium complement ideas and drugs warnings
Calcium dietary supplements can intervene with the best way sure medicines are absorbed or processed within the physique. Be particularly cautious if you happen to take:
- Dolutegravir, used to deal with HIV
- Levothyroxine, used to deal with hypothyroidism
- Lithium, used to handle bipolar dysfunction
- Quinolone antibiotics, corresponding to ciprofloxacin
- Corticosteroids, corresponding to prednisone
If you happen to’re taking any of those medicines — or plan to start out a calcium complement — make sure to discuss to your healthcare supplier first. They might advocate spacing out doses or selecting a distinct complement kind.
To spice up absorption and scale back unintended effects:
- Take not more than 500 mg of calcium at a time — your physique can’t soak up rather more than that in a single sitting.
- Calcium carbonate ought to be taken with meals for higher absorption. Calcium citrate will be taken with or with out meals.
- Some individuals expertise gasoline, bloating, or constipation from calcium dietary supplements. Splitting the dose all through the day and taking it with meals might assist scale back these signs.
Ultimate ideas on calcium and your well being
Calcium performs a significant function in your general well being — from constructing sturdy bones to supporting your coronary heart, muscle tissue, and nerves. Whereas it’s finest to get calcium from meals, dietary supplements may help fill the hole if wanted. Simply make sure to discuss along with your healthcare supplier earlier than beginning a complement, particularly if you happen to take different medicines. With the suitable method, you may give your physique the calcium it wants to remain sturdy and wholesome.
Study extra about nutritional vitamins and minerals by studying the opposite items on this collection:
Get to Know Vitamin A
Get to Know Vitamin B1
Get to Know Vitamin B2
Get to Know Vitamin B3
Get to Know Vitamin B5
Get to Know Vitamin B6
Get to Know Vitamin B7
Get to Know Vitamin B9
Get to Know Vitamin B12
Get to Know Vitamin C
Get to Know Vitamin D
Get to Know Vitamin E
Get to Know Vitamin Ok
