Calcium supplementation during pregnancy

Pregnant women should supplement calcium appropriately during pregnancy, because calcium is a trace element that can promote bone development, and can also relieve osteoporosis and back pain in pregnant women. Therefore, during pregnancy, pregnant women can eat some bone soup and dairy products, which are relatively rich in content. You can learn about the amount of calcium supplementation during pregnancy to avoid exceeding the standard.

Dosage and method of calcium supplementation

The requirement for calcium should take into account different physiological conditions. For example, the requirement for calcium increases in infants, children and adolescents, and the requirement for calcium increases under the special physiological conditions of pregnant women and nursing mothers. The recommended calcium intake in our country is 400 mg for infants in the first 6 months, 600 mg for 6 to 12 months, 600 mg for children under 2 years old, 800 mg for children 3 to 9 years old, 1000 mg for children 10 to 12 years old, 1200 mg for children 13 to 15 years old, and 800 mg for children thereafter until adults. Pregnant women need 1000 to 1500 mg, nursing mothers need 2000 mg, and menopausal women may need 1200 to 1500 mg of calcium.

When it comes to calcium supplementation, the first thing people think of is calcium from food sources. The main sources of calcium in food are milk and dairy products, which are not only rich in calcium but also have a high absorption rate. Green vegetables such as cabbage and broccoli are also good sources of calcium because they are rich in calcium and low in oxalic acid. Shrimp skin is particularly rich in calcium. Tofu and dried tofu have high calcium content mainly because gypsum (calcium sulfate) is added during the production process, so the calcium content is much higher than that of beans.

In addition, eating fried fish with the bones, or adding some vinegar when stewing pork ribs soup to promote the dissolution of calcium in the bones, can also be a good source of calcium in the diet. Bone meal and eggshell powder are also good calcium supplements. Calcium supplements can be taken when necessary, but the supplementation must be reasonable, scientific and standardized.

Choice of calcium supplement type:

(1) Currently, the calcium supplements on the market are mainly active calcium. However, there are reports that arsenic, mercury, lead and chromium have been detected in their finished products. In addition, they are also highly toxic, so their safety remains to be evaluated.

(2) Calcium carbonate is the most commonly used fortified food. Although there are large individual differences in the absorption and utilization of calcium carbonate, the average utilization rate of the group is not significantly different compared with other forms of calcium and dairy products. Since calcium carbonate requires a lower pH to dissolve, it is not suitable for patients with gastric acid deficiency.

(3) Organic calcium acids such as calcium citrate, although they have a lower calcium content, are more soluble than calcium carbonate and are suitable for patients with gastric acid deficiency.

For patients with calcium deficiency, they can take a certain amount of calcium supplements in combination with daily diet adjustments. You can use "Kaqiliwei D2 Phosphate Calcium Tablets" to supplement the required calcium. Each tablet contains 0.197 grams of calcium gluconate, 0.139 grams of calcium hydrogen phosphate, and 100 units of vitamin D2. While supplementing calcium, you should also pay attention to the supplementation of vitamin D and phosphorus to enhance calcium absorption.

Calcium dosage options:

Calcium absorption increases with the increase of calcium intake, but after reaching a certain value, calcium absorption no longer increases even if the intake increases further. We also pay attention to two issues when choosing the dosage.

(1) The individual needs of the body, such as differences in age, gender, and racial habits;

(2) This takes into account the calcium intake from food. The average intake of urban residents in my country is 490 mg/d. When choosing the dosage of calcium supplements, we should avoid the misunderstanding that more is better.