What is Calcium?
Calcium — Calcium are essential to building strong, dense bones when you’re young and to keeping them strong and healthy as you age. The information included here will help you learn all about calcium and vitamin D the two most important nutrients for bone health.
Calcium is a mineral that is necessary for life. In addition to building bones and keeping them healthy, calcium enables our blood to clot, our muscles to contract, and our heart to beat. About 99% of the calcium in our bodies is in our bones and teeth. Every day, we lose calcium through our skin, nails, hair, sweat, urine and feces. Our bodies cannot produce its own calcium. That’s why it’s important to get enough calcium from the food we eat. When we don’t get the calcium our body needs, it is taken from our bones.
The amount of calcium you need every day depends on your age and sex.
WOMEN — Age 50 & younger — 1,000 mg* daily
Age 51 & older — 1,200 mg* daily
MEN — Age 70 & younger — 1,000 mg* daily
Age 71 & older — 1,200 mg* daily
- This includes the total amount of calcium you get from food and supplements.
Source of Calcium:-
Calcium-Rich Food Sources
Food is the best source of calcium. Dairy products, such as milk, yogurt, and cheese are high in calcium. Certain green vegetables and other foods contain calcium in smaller amounts. Some juices, breakfast foods, soymilk, cereals, snacks, breads and bottled water have added calcium. If you drink soymilk or another liquid that is fortified with calcium, be sure to shake the container well as calcium can settle to the bottom. To determine how much calcium is in a particular food, check the nutrition facts panel for the daily value (DV). Food labels list calcium as a percentage of the DV. This amount is based on 1,000 mg of calcium per day. For example:
30% DV of calcium equals 300 mg of calcium.
20% DV of calcium equals 200 mg of calcium.
15% DV of calcium equals 150 mg of calcium.
Calcium Supplements:- Calcium supplements are available without a prescription in a wide range of preparations (including chewable and liquid) and in different amounts. The best supplement is the one that meets your needs for convenience, cost, and availability. When choosing a supplement, keep the following in mind.
The amount of calcium you need from a supplement depends on how much you get from food. Try to get the daily amount recommended from food and only supplement as needed to make up any shortfall. In general, you shouldn’t take supplements that you don’t need. If you get enough calcium from foods, don’t take a supplement. There is no added benefit to taking more calcium than you need. Doing so may even carry some risks.
Types of Supplements:- There are different types of supplements. A doctor can recommend the best option. This will depend on the individual’s needs and preferences, any medical conditions they have, and whether they are taking any medications. Supplements may contain different proportions of calcium compounds and elemental calcium. For example.
Calcium carbonate:- This contains 40% elemental calcium. This type is commonly available, and it is relatively cheap and convenient. A person should take it with food, as stomach acid helps the body absorb it.
Calcium lactate:- This contains 13% elemental calcium.
Calcium gluconate:- This contains 9% elemental calcium.
Calcium citrate:- This contains 21% elemental calcium. A person can take it with or without food. It is useful for people with inflammatory bowel disease, achlorhydria, and some absorption disorders.
What is Vitamin D? :- Vitamin D plays an important role in protecting your bones, both by helping your body absorb calcium and by supporting muscles needed to avoid falls. Children need vitamin D to build strong bones, and adults need it to keep their bones strong and healthy. If you don’t get enough vitamin D, and you’re more likely to break bones as you age.
How much Vitamin D needs for you?
WOMEN-
Under age 50–400–800 international units (IU) daily**
MEN-
Age 50 and older — 800–1,000 IU daily**
Source of Vitamin D :- There are three ways to get vitamin D.
Sunlight — Your skin makes vitamin D in reaction to sunlight and stores it in fat for later use. How much vitamin D your skin can produce depends on time of day, season, latitude, skin pigmentation, age, and other factors.
Even people who spend time outdoors often use sunscreen to prevent skin cancer. Sunscreen with an SPF as low as 8 reduces vitamin D production by 95 percent.
Food — Vitamin D is found in very few foods. Sources include fatty fish like wild-caught mackerel, salmon, and tuna. Vitamin D is added to milk and other dairy products, orange juice, soymilk, and fortified cereals. Check the food label to see if vitamin D has been added to a particular product. One eight-ounce serving of milk usually has 25% of the daily value (DV) of vitamin D. The DV is based on a total daily intake of 400 IU of vitamin D.
A Guide to Calcium in Food:- We all know that milk is a great source of calcium, but you may be surprised by all the different foods you can work into your diet to reach your daily recommended amount of calcium. Use the guide below to get ideas of additional calcium-rich foods to add to your weekly shopping list.
*The calcium content listed for most foods is estimated and can vary due to multiple factors. Check the food label to determine how much calcium is in a particular product.
The DV for calcium is 1,300 mg for adults and children age 4 years and older. FDA requires all food labels to list calcium content. Foods providing 20% or more of the DV are considered to be high sources of a nutrient, but foods providing lower percentages of the DV also contribute to a healthful diet.