Calcium, are you taking it correctly?

As people's quality of life gets better and better, they pay more and more attention to health. Many families will prepare liver protection tablets, melatonin, vitamins, cod liver oil and other health products. Of course, the most common one is calcium tablets. Today we will talk about "calcium supplementation".

01Am I calcium deficient?

Calcium, as the most abundant inorganic element in the human body, accounts for about 1.5% to 2.0% of body weight. The total amount of calcium in our body is about 28g when we are born, and about 1000 to 1200g in adulthood. 99% of the calcium is concentrated in bones and teeth, and the rest is stored in soft tissues and body fluids in free or combined form.

Under normal circumstances, the human body needs 800 mg of calcium per day. However, during special stages such as adolescence, pregnancy, lactation, and menopause, the demand for calcium or the loss of calcium increases, so the daily calcium requirement is about 1200 mg. However, according to the "Survey Report on Nutrition and Health Status of Chinese Residents", many Chinese residents do not meet the calcium intake requirement.

So, how do we judge whether we are calcium deficient? Calcium deficiency may lead to a variety of physical manifestations. When the following situations occur, it may indicate that we need calcium supplementation.

Bone problems: Bones become fragile and easily broken, resulting in symptoms such as fractures, bone pain, and joint pain.

Muscle problems: I believe that many people have experienced leg cramps and waking up in the middle of the night during adolescence, and their parents will say that it is calcium deficiency. Calcium ions play an important role in nerve and muscle cells, and are involved in nerve conduction and muscle contraction, so calcium deficiency may cause muscle cramps, twitches or spasmodic pain.

Cardiovascular problems: Calcium deficiency may affect the normal function of the heart, leading to problems such as arrhythmia and palpitations.

Neurological problems: Calcium is also involved in maintaining the normal function of the nervous system. Neurological problems such as fatigue, dizziness, and inattention may also be related to calcium deficiency.

Dental problems: Calcium is an important component of tooth enamel. Calcium deficiency can also affect the health of teeth, making them easy to fall off or become loose.

If the above symptoms persist for a long time or have seriously affected the quality of life, you should seek medical attention in time to ensure adequate calcium intake and seek appropriate treatment.

02Who needs calcium supplement more?

We'd better pay attention to calcium intake in our daily diet and ensure adequate calcium intake through a diversified diet. However, due to various reasons, some people cannot get enough calcium through their daily diet, such as excessive calcium loss, increased calcium demand, etc. At this time, additional calcium intake is needed. So who needs calcium supplementation more?

Women: Women need more calcium to support bone health during certain stages of their lives, such as pregnancy, breastfeeding, and menopause.

Elderly people: As people age, calcium loss increases and bone density may decrease, so older people may need additional calcium supplementation to slow the progression of osteoporosis.

People at high risk for osteoporosis: People with osteoporosis, or a family history of osteoporosis, may need extra calcium to maintain bone health.

People with an unbalanced diet: If your diet lacks foods high in calcium (such as dairy products), or if you are not getting enough calcium due to vegetarianism or dairy allergy, you may need calcium supplements.

Image source: Pixabay

Less sun exposure or indoor workers: People who work or live indoors for a long time and those who get less sun exposure may lack vitamin D, which is one of the important factors for calcium absorption. In this case, combined supplementation of vitamin D and calcium may be more effective.

People with certain diseases or receiving certain treatments: For example, people with kidney disease, thyroid disease, or long-term use of certain anti-epileptic drugs, steroids and other drugs may need additional calcium supplements.

03How to choose calcium? How to supplement it?

Now that we have discussed who may need calcium supplements, let’s talk about calcium tablets. There are various calcium tablets on the market, but there are mainly two types: inorganic calcium and organic calcium.

Inorganic calcium includes calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate, with calcium carbonate being the main component. Calcium carbonate is also the main active ingredient of domestic calcium tablets. Calcium carbonate has a high calcium content and is cheap, but calcium carbonate can only decompose calcium ions under the action of gastric acid and be digested and absorbed, so it must be taken with meals. However, calcium carbonate is not suitable for people with poor gastrointestinal digestion. These people may experience flatulence, constipation, and indigestion after taking calcium tablets containing calcium carbonate.

Image source: Pixabay

Organic calcium is mainly calcium citrate, and calcium gluconate and amino acid calcium are also organic calcium. Calcium citrate does not rely on gastric acid for digestion and has less irritation to the stomach and intestines, so it can be well absorbed whether on an empty stomach or with meals. Calcium citrate is not easy to cause constipation, so if you experience constipation and indigestion after taking ordinary calcium tablets, you can try products containing calcium citrate. Organic calcium products are suitable for the elderly, children, people with malabsorption, people with inflammatory bowel disease, and people with gastric acid deficiency.

In recent years, "liquid calcium" has become popular, and businesses have used "liquid calcium is easy to absorb" as a gimmick to promote it. But in fact, the active ingredient of most liquid calcium is still calcium carbonate. The so-called liquid calcium is just calcium carbonate "dispersed" in liquid. It is still a solid molecule of calcium carbonate, not a calcium ion that can be directly absorbed by the human body. It still needs to be dissolved by gastric acid before it can be absorbed. Of course, some liquid calcium is composed of organic calcium, but the absorption efficiency of organic calcium is not significantly higher than that of solid calcium, so the statement that "liquid calcium is easier to absorb than solid calcium" is not correct.

After choosing the calcium supplement that’s right for you, what aspects should you pay attention to so that your body can absorb as much as possible without causing other adverse effects?

The first thing is to adjust the dosage and frequency, and choose the appropriate dosage and frequency of calcium supplementation according to the advice of a doctor or nutritionist. Excessive calcium intake may cause adverse reactions, such as constipation, diarrhea, kidney stones, etc. Secondly, calcium absorption may be affected by other nutrients. Ensuring adequate intake of vitamin D and magnesium can promote calcium absorption and utilization.

It is especially important to mention that calcium should be avoided from being taken with certain substances: most plant foods contain salts such as oxalates, carbonates, and phosphates, which can combine with calcium to form polymers and precipitate, hindering the absorption of calcium supplements; fatty acids generated after the decomposition of fats combine with calcium to form substances that are not easily absorbed by the intestines and are eventually excreted from the body with feces. The best time to take calcium supplements is 1 to 1.5 hours after a meal.

Finally, if you have any current health conditions or are taking medications, consult your doctor before taking a calcium supplement, as some health conditions or medications may affect calcium absorption or utilization.

04Misconceptions about calcium supplementation

Finally, there are still many misunderstandings about calcium supplementation among the people. Here are a few to share with you:

1. Bone soup is high in calcium and can supplement calcium

The calcium in bones is difficult to dissolve. Even after high-pressure cooking, the calcium content in bones is still very low. The meat itself may contain a higher concentration of calcium.

2. Sunscreen and calcium supplementation have nothing to do with each other

Excessive sun protection may affect the synthesis of vitamin D, thereby indirectly affecting the absorption of calcium. Sunscreen products usually protect the skin from sunburn by blocking ultraviolet rays, and UVB in ultraviolet rays is the main light that promotes the synthesis of vitamin D in the skin. Therefore, excessive sun protection may reduce the synthesis of vitamin D in the skin, thereby affecting the absorption and utilization of calcium.

3. I am still young, I will take calcium supplement when I am older

The more calcium you have when you are young, the higher your peak bone mass will be, the more bone mass you will have available for consumption in the future, and the likelihood of developing osteoporosis in old age will be reduced.

4. Injection of calcium supplementation is fast and effective

As a method of calcium supplementation, calcium injection can bypass the digestive system and quickly increase blood calcium levels, especially in emergency situations such as severe calcium deficiency or acute hypercalcemia. However, calcium injection can usually only provide a one-time calcium supplementation effect and cannot provide continuous calcium supplementation. If used improperly or excessively, it may lead to hypercalcemia, which may even be life-threatening in severe cases.

Source: Chongqing Science and Technology Museum

Author: Mouse researcher, medical science writer

Audit expert: Li Chunli

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