Most of it resides in bones and teeth, making up more than 99 percent of their structure, though calcium can be found in the blood, muscles, and the fluid between cells.
Among its functions, in addition to providing structure and rigidity to bones, it enables muscle contractility, transmission from the brain nerves to the rest of the body, blood circulation, or the production of hormones and enzymes for different body functions.
The primary source of calcium is dairy products, and to a lesser extent, in vegetables and other foods.
Calcium deficiency in the diet, or insufficient exercise, can lead to diseases such as osteoporosis.
Nutritional
Sources
Dairy products, such as milk, yogurts, or cheese, are the richest source of calcium from which the body best absorbs its properties.
Their proportion of consumption and the level of fat in each of the products varies with age: while for children under two years of age, for example, whole milk (containing 4 percent fat) is recommended, for older children, lower-fat or skimmed products (with 1 or 2 percent fat) are recommended instead.
Although dairy products are the main source of calcium, they can also be found to a lesser extent in other foods such as some vegetables (kale, broccoli, or Chinese cabbage), fish with soft edible bones (canned sardines or salmon), or cereals (bread, pasta or non-fortified cereals).
Of all the calcium in these foods, only 30 percent is normally absorbed by the human body.
Depending on the type of food, this absorption is greater or lesser: among the aspects that increase absorption are vitamin D, gastric acidity, the presence of lactose, or the body's need for calcium.
On the other hand, elements that reduce calcium absorption are excess fat with fatty acids, lack of exercise, or stress.
The
recommended daily amount of calcium also varies according to age:
- Up to 6 months: 200 mg.
- From 7 to 12 months: 260 mg.
- From 1 to 3 years: 700 mg.
- From 4 to 8 years: 1000 mg.
- From 9 to 18 years: 1300 mg.
- From 19 to 50 years old: 1000 mg.
- Men 51 to 70 years old: 1000 mg.
- Women over 51 years old and men over 71 years old: 1200 mg.
In addition, pregnant women need a higher amount of calcium than usual, which should also be maintained during the breastfeeding period.
In adolescents and pregnant women, the recommended amount is 1300 mg, while for adults, this figure is reduced to 1000 mg.
Calcium intake should also be taken care of by those who cannot obtain it in the same way due to their condition, such as postmenopausal women, people with lactose intolerance, or vegetarians.
These groups should seek alternative sources to reach the recommended daily levels.
Calcium
Deficiency
Up to 30, bones require abundant amounts of calcium to maintain their strength at maximum levels.
Still, bones will become progressively weaker from this age onwards, something that can be avoided by preserving calcium intake at the recommended levels and healthy lifestyle habits that include regular physical exercise.
A lack of calcium in the diet can also have significant health consequences. The most common disease caused by a lack of calcium is osteoporosis since more than 99 percent of bones are composed of this macroelement.
Osteoporosis consists of the fragility of the different bones of the body due to the loss of bone mass, which makes them more prone to fractures. This pathology usually affects people over 50 years of age and especially women.
However, there are other risk factors such as short stature or a family history of the same disease. It is a silent disease that is difficult to detect, which can be prevented with periodic bone mineral density tests to check its excellent or imperfect condition.
Apart from osteoporosis, lack of calcium can generate other problems such as osteomalacia (softening of the bones), cardiovascular diseases, arterial hypertension, or kidney stones.
Excess Calcium
Taking more calcium than recommended can also have adverse health effects. Excess calcium can cause constipation and impair the body's absorption of other elements such as iron or zinc. Extra calcium may also predispose some adults to kidney stones.
People
most likely to suffer from excess calcium take calcium supplements such as
calcium carbonate or calcium citrate.