Calcium is essential for maintaining healthy bones and teeth while also playing a major role in muscle contraction stimulation, blood clotting process, and also in controlling heartbeat and nerve processing.
Most of the body’s calcium is reserved in the bones, and the rest are scattered in muscles, blood, and other tissues.
Recommended intake value of calcium
The suggested daily requirement of calcium for women over the age of 19 to 50 years is 1000 mg, and for women over 51 years of age, it is recommended to be 1200 mg by Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA).
Deficiency of calcium
Calcium levels within the body are kept sufficient throughout life. With the decrease in calcium levels, bones release calcium into the blood but with no symptoms to tell the difference.
Kidney failure, diuretics medication that alters absorption, and gastric bypass, which is the surgery of the digestive tract, all are caused due to extreme deficiency of calcium known as hypocalcemia.
Symptoms of hypocalcemia
- Loss of appetite
- Irregular heart rate
- Numbness or tingling in fingers
- Weakness or muscle cramps
People develop calcium deficiency, especially in progressing age when they lose the ability to absorb calcium or their diet does not contain sufficient quantity in them.
Osteopenia develops in the beginning when bone loss starts to occur, which, if left untreated, becomes severe and forms osteoporosis.
Health Benefits of Calcium
1. Bone health
Calcium is present within 99% of the body in bones and teeth. Calcium is also needed for the growth, development, and regulation of bone health.
With growing age, calcium plays an important role in the formation of bones. However, even after the growth process stops, calcium is still used to keep up the health of bones and may decrease the speed of bone density loss, all part of aging.
Females with menopause tend to lose bone density more speedily than males at or younger people. Osteoporosis is a threat to them which is why calcium supplements are usually prescribed by doctors, especially for females.
2. Muscle contraction
Calcium is used to strengthen the muscle contraction process. When a muscle is stimulated, it releases calcium in the body, which helps the muscle to work on contraction.
When calcium is removed from the muscle, it will result in relaxation.
3. Cardiovascular system
Blood clotting is handled by calcium. Clotting involves a number of steps that are complex. Chemicals like calcium are also required in it. Muscle function of the heart is maintained due to the presence of calcium.
Calcium also plays a role in smooth muscle relaxation of blood vessels. A possible connection can be seen due to multiple studies stating good consumption of calcium can result in low blood pressure. Another important vitamin related to bone health is vitamin D, which aids in the absorption of calcium.
Foods high in Calcium
The food sources of calcium are;
- Milk
- Fortified dairy products like soy milk
- Yogurt
- Cheese
- Sardines, salmon, and tofu
- Fortified fruit juices
- Grains and legumes
- Nuts and seeds
- Green vegetables such as spinach are rich in calcium.
