Do you need a calcium supplement?

Bone density matters as you get older – particularly for women. Our bones are the body’s structural frame and without sufficient calcium you risk bone mineral loss, joint pain, poor mobility and diseases like osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.

You may be surprised to find out that calcium is one of the most abundant minerals in your body accounting for 1.5% of your total body weight – mostly in your bones and teeth.

Not surprisingly – your body needs a daily supply of calcium to repair, build and maintain bone density and strengthen teeth.

Calcium also plays a role in many other important activities like blood clotting, nerve conduction, muscle contraction, regulation of enzyme activity, and cell membrane function.

Although your body needs calcium for all these functions – it has no means of making it – it has to come through what you eat every day. Not only that but we lose calcium from our bodies all the time – through shedding skin, nails, hair, sweat, and urine.

When we don’t have enough calcium in the blood due to poor diet the body will draw on calcium stores in our bones to maintain the blood concentrations it needs to function properly.

Aging impacts bone density significantly since after the age of 35 – more bone is lost than gained. Additionally for women – the menopause accelerates bone loss and osteoporosis can be the result. A lack of exercise can be another contributory factor in this disfiguring and aging disease.

Calcium deficiency can be difficult to spot. You may notice you are prone to bone fractures or maybe you get muscle pain, spasms or tingling in your hands and feet. Of course, this doesn’t always happen – you could go on for many years with a depleted calcium intake without realizing it.

The problem will only be apparent later in life should osteoporosis or osteoarthritis result. For women especially – it is so sensible to make sure you don’t leave it to chance – especially if you have reduced or eliminated dairy products from your diet. You need to make sure that you take in enough calcium – in supplement form if needed – to protect yourself from bone loss and osteoporosis.

So – how do you know how much calcium you need?

If you are post menopause and not taking HRT – the recommended daily intake is 1500 mg and for younger premenopausal women (31-50) 1000 mg. You should aim to keep within 2500 mg per day at the upper end.

There are many excellent sources of calcium in the diet including: cow’s and goat’s milk, low fat dairy yoghurt, mozarella cheese, spinach, basil and sesame seeds (either whole or ground as in tahini).

Unfortunately, in recent years the emphasis on low fat foods and worries about cholesterol in the diet have caused many people to shun certain foods – like dairy food – that are great natural sources of calcium. The balance is being redressed now with increasing studies showing the importance of calcium – particularly for anti aging health.

The good news is that calcium in foods is not adversely impacted by cooking or long term storage so what you eat is what you’ll get. Don’t forget to increase your intake of vitamin C at the same time – either through food or a vitamin supplement – since vitamin C aids the absorption of calcium.

If you want to take a calcium supplement – they come in two forms – refined calcium carbonate and chelated calcium. Supplements based on calcium carbonate is more common and less expensive but it has the disadvantage of being less well absorbed. For this reason you should take calcium carbonate with meals – the presence of food in the stomach produces stomach acid which will break down the calcium carbonate and aid absorption.

Chelated calcium is calcium bound to an organic acid – citrate, malate, lactate, or gluconate; or to an amino acid, such as aspartate. Research indicates that cupplements based on calcium chelates, especially calcium citrate, are more readily absorbed than calcium carbonate.

If you do opt for a calcium supplement make sure you add in the calcium you get from your diet to make sure you don’t go over maximum guidelines. You should also make sure you increase the amount of load bearing exercise you do to build bone density and strength.

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