Benefits Of Calcium:Facts you should know

Hey, welcome back to another blog, Today’s blog is all about calcium. Here I will be sharing the benefits of calcium and some prime facts you should know about calcium.

It comes under macro minerals. The minerals present at a level of more than 0.05% in the human body are known as macro minerals.

Calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, and potassium comes under this category.

In your body calcium is the major component. Almost 90% of calcium is found in the tissues of the body such as bones and teeth. Rest 10% found in blood, muscles, heart, and liver.

Benefits Of Calcium For Human body

Bone Formation

The key mineral present within the bone is calcium. Apart from calcium, phosphorus and magnesium are also present inside the bone.

Your body can not make calcium itself, you can get calcium from different calcium-rich food or from supplements.

If your body does not get enough calcium in your food or if your body is unable to soak it then your bone won’t develop properly or it will get weak as time passes. Your skeleton (Bones) is constantly being resorbed and replaced with previous bone.

The bone calcium turns poor over 5 to 6 years on average. So bone health is not solely crucial for growing kids however additionally for adults.

Tooth Formation

One of the key nutrients for healthy teeth is calcium and phosphate. Calcium helps to strengthen the outer layer of teeth which is nothing but enamel it helps to fight cavities.

The enamel of the tooth contains hydroxyapatite along with a protein called keratin.

The 1 st time teeth begin when the fetus ( unhatched offspring develops from an embryo) is about 20 weeks old and completes at about 6 months.

So now you will be able to imagine how important calcium is during pregnancy, not only for pregnant women but also for their developing baby too.

When deficiency of calcium occurs whiten the body mechanically it pulls it from teeth and bones, which may lead to tooth decay.

Growth

Calcium is clearly needed for growth because it plays a very important role in the healthy development of bones and teeth in human beings.

It is additionally essential in smaller quantity for the right functioning of every cell whiten the body. Adequate calcium intake plays a significant role in normal linear growth.

These are some basic benefits of calcium for the human body.

Effects of lack Of Calcium

• Insomnia
• Dizziness
• Brain fog such as confusion,lack of focus
• Fatigue
• Lack of energy
• Sluggishness

Calcium Absorption ! Factors Favoring/Depressing Calcium Absorption

Factors Favoring Absorption

• Vitamin D
• Acidity of digestive mass
• Lactose
• Protein and Phosphorus

Calcium absorption means, suppose you take calcium-rich food, then calcium dissolves whiten the abdomen.

Then calcium is absorbed and mixed into the bloodstream. Then it helps to perform all the mandatory functions inside the body.

On average 30 to 40% of dietary calcium is absorbed in adults, Growing kids, pregnant women. Lactating mothers absorb 60 to 70% of calcium.

In women after 45 years of age calcium absorption decreases to 20 to 30%, Estrogen hormone enhances calcium absorption.

So in women’s cases, it decreases after menopause. In men’s case, it decreases after 60 years of age.

Vitamin D

The active form of vitamin D regulates the synthesis of calcium-binding protein serves as a calcium carrier in the intestinal cell, transporting calcium across the intestinal cells for it to be released into the blood.

Your body needs vitamin D in order to absorb calcium. You can get most of vitamin D from exposure to sunlight. Also from diet and supplements, you can get vitamin D.

You need to add vitamin D-rich food such as fortified milk, egg yolks, fish in your diet.

Expert suggests a daily intake of 600 IU (International unit) of vitamin D up to age 70. After 70 you need to increase your daily intake of vitamin D.

The Institute of Drugs recommends no over than 4,000 IU per day for adults. However, generally, doctors prescribe higher doses for patients who are deficient in vitamin D.

Acidity of Digestive Mass

Calcium is more soluble and absorbed in acidic conditions. Most calcium absorption occurs in the small intestine. In which the acidity of digestive mass is released from the stomach then neutralized.

The acid secretion from the stomach converts calcium to salts.it primarily absorbed by the first part of the small intestine and absorbed calcium excretes from the body.

Lactose

It favors the absorption of calcium in infants, The lactose in breast milk and formula milk improves calcium absorption in infants.

Also, it can increase the proportion of dietary is required to promote calcium absorption. But after infancy, there is no proof whether lactose improves calcium absorption or not!

Protein and Phosphorous

Your Protein intake affects calcium absorption. It depends on the amount of calcium in the diet.

If your calcium intake is 800/1400 mg per day, then increased dietary protein is associated with increased calcium absorption.

Protein intake directly affects absorption, it increases the excretion of calcium in the urine.

An increasing amount of phosphate in the diet has the opposite effect on calcium excretion.

Food with high protein content is also very rich in phosphate, so the net effect of protein intake on calcium losses via urine is less than expected from the effect of protein alone.

The efficiency with which calcium is absorbed may be influenced by the body’s need for calcium.

Factors Depressing Absorption

• Oxalic acid
• Phytic acid
• Emotional instability
• Lack of exercise
• Ageing

Oxalic Acid

Oxalic acid combines with minerals in the gut and prevents the body to absorb calcium.

let’s say spinach it is very rich in calcium but on the other hand, it contains oxalate. It prevents calcium is being absorbed into the body.

Phytic Acid

Phytic acid inhibits calcium absorption, it binds with different minerals like calcium, iron before they get absorbed by your body. Basically, it prevents calcium absorption.

Foods like nuts, seeds, grains are high in phytic acid. a study also found phytic acid present in cereals prevents calcium absorption.

Emotional Instability

Stress, tension, grief, and boredom also interfere with calcium absorption. Studies found that calcium absorption decreases under the condition of stress, such as during exams.

Lack Of Exercise

For people who do not do any type of exercise, such as walking, or any kind of physical activities calcium absorption does not take place properly.

Bed-ridden people who are essentially immobile can lose as much as 0.5% of bone in a month.

People who do swimming may have a lower bone density as compared to people who exercise by walking or running. Because of decreased load on the bones during swimming.

One interesting fact Astronauts suffer from calcium loss during space flight either due to weightlessness or due to their immobility.

Ageing

Calcium absorption is decreased during old age due to vitamin D deficiency and hyperparathyroidism may increase the risk of fracture.

Note: Some medications also interfere with calcium absorption.

Conclusion

I have covered some prime benefits of calcium and what factors favor and depress calcium absorption.

In the next blog, I am going to cover all the stuff related to calcium like the source of calcium, disorders of calcium, etc. If you find this blog informational then don’t forget to share.