Calcium - Benefits and Deficiency

Calcium is an essential dietary mineral for healthy bones and teeth strong. A constant blood calcium level is essential for the maintenance of normal heart beat, and for the normal functioning of nerves and muscles.

benefits of calcium -

- calcium ion concentration is an essential prerequisite for a number of important physiological Functions, including muscle contraction, nerve stimulation, hormone release, cell membrane permeability, ordnungsgemae enzyme function.

calcium is necessary to regulate the activities of a number of proteins and enzymes. The binding of calcium ions is responsible for the activation of vitamin K-dependent "aspects of clotting blood clotting process.

calcium, particularly calcium from dairy products help the body adjust fat.

calcium helps slow bone loss in postmenopausal women, skill the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, and with a decreased risk of colorectal cancer.

-The body needs calcium for strong teeth and healthy bones. The bones are used as storage place for the body's calcium. They continuously calcium release into the bloodstream, and then hold them instead of the body requirement for calcium. When calcium intake is low, there is poor absorption and there is a high probability of bone breakdown, because the body uses the stored calcium to normal biological functions.

calcium is also necessary for muscle contraction and maintenance of the cell membranes.

-- Help calcium alleviate mood swings, food cravings, pain, flatulence and in connection with premenstrual syndrome.

What is the recommended daily requirement of calcium?

Optimal calcium intake depends upon a person, age, gender, and ethnicity.
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The U.S. Recommended Dietary Allowance for calcium is 1000 milligrams per day - for adults (with the exception of pregnant or lactating women) and children aged 4 years.
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around 1200 milligrams for people older than 50 years old.
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The intake of calcium vegan tends to be slightly below the recommended amounts optimal but the body does adapt to lower supply. As vegetarians have a slightly lower protein intake and exclude meat from their diet, promotes their body to retain calcium, so their diet need is relatively lower.

calcium sources -

Dairy products (milk, yoghurt , Cottage cheese, cheese) are the main sources of calcium. People with lactose intolerance (people can not fully digest the milk sugar lactose), and those who are vegans tend to prevent or eliminate dairy products from their diet. We all know that it is important for vegetarians to meet calcium needs with alternative sources of calcium.
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Good calcium sources are vegan tofu (if calcium sulfate), green leafy vegetables, dried figs, broccoli, seeds and nuts. Some soy, milk, instant breakfast cereals are fortified with calcium. Drinking water can be as much as 200mg calcium daily, as hard water contains a rich source of calcium.

Although most grains are not high in calcium, they do contribute to the calcium diet, because they regularly consumed and frequently.

What affects calcium absorption and excretion from the body?

Only 20-30% of calcium in the average diet is absorbed into the body, the rest is excreted.

A high-protein diet, particularly because of animal food, causes loss of calcium in the body. The higher sulphur-calcium ratio of meat excretion.

Calcium increased calcium absorption may also be affected by the amount of calcium in the body, in the amount of vitamin D presence (helps improve calcium absorption), age, pregnancy (intestinal calcium absorption increased during pregnancy), fibre content of food, etc. The amount of calcium consumed at once as a meal is inversely related to the absorption rate.

Calcium excretion refers to the amount of calcium from the body through urine, sweat and feces. Calcium excretion is affected by factors such as level of sodium, protein, caffeine and potassium in the diet.
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calcium is lost in some foods, cooking, even under the best conditions. Maintaining Calcium:

- foods are best cooked in a minimal amount of water.

Cook food for the shortest possible time.

What does calcium deficiency?

Osteoporosis: main cause of fractures in older people, especially women. Prevention includes an adequate intake of calcium throughout life, but especially in childhood and young adulthood, and to reduce the trigger factors such as smoking, heavy drinking and lack of physical exercise. Diets high in protein and salt and the calcium loss from the body. Women after menopause are more vulnerable because they produce less estrogen, which protects the skeleton in younger women.
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rickets, a disorder of childhood with softening and weakening of the bones. It is caused by lack of vitamin D, calcium or phosphate. A lack of vitamin D leads to undue regulation of calcium and phosphate. The symptoms of rickets in children include delayed sitting, crawling, walking and the development of bowlegs.

 

Read more on calcium, calcium rich food and benefits of calcium. Also Visit http://www.healthvitaminsguide.com for Information on Vitamins, Minerals, Amino Acids.

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