CALCIUM ??..? BONE HEALTH??????.OSTEOPOROSIS???.
Aren't these words are seen too much at too many places these days? Why is it so? Let's try understanding: Calcium is an essential mineral of the body. It is the main component of bone and teeth. In bone, calcium serves two main purposes: it provides skeletal strength and, concurrently, provides a dynamic store to maintain the Intra- and extracellular calcium pools. Non-bone calcium has a wide range of essential functions, including extra- and intracellular signaling, nerve impulse transmission, and muscle contraction. Calcium is available to the body only through diet since the body cannot produce its own calcium. Calcium can be found in a variety of foods, including dairy products, such as cheese, milk and yogurt, dark green leafy vegetables, such as broccoli and kale, fish with edible soft bones, such as sardines and canned salmon, calcium-fortified foods and beverages, such as soy products, cereal and fruit juices, and milk substitutes. At times, Calcium obtained through diet may not be adequate for the daily requirement, for example when a person is consuming a vegetarian diet when a person is lactose intolerant and hence limits the dairy products, consumes large amounts of protein or sodium, which can cause body to excrete more calcium, has osteoporosis, is receiving long-term treatment with corticosteroids, has certain bowel or digestive diseases that decrease your ability to absorb calcium, such as inflammatory bowel disease or celiac disease, etc. Each day our body loses calcium through sweat, urine, nails, skin, and hair. Therefore there is a need to take calcium tablets? Daily calcium requirements differ throughout the life span as the calcium balance changes throughout the life span. Calcium balance in the body state where the calcium stores are at equilibrium. This results from the net effect of intestinal absorption and renal, intestinal and sweat gland excretion on bone calcium. These, in turn, are regulated by a set of interacting hormones, including parathyroid hormone (PTH), 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D [1,25(OH)2D], ionized calcium itself, and their corresponding receptors in the gut, kidney, and bone.
Calcium balance depends on the relative rate of bone formation and resorption. Children are in positive bone balance (formation > resorption), which ensures healthy skeletal growth. Healthy young adults are in neutral bone balance (formation = resorption) and have achieved peak bone mass. Elderly individuals are typically in negative bone balance (formation < resorption), which leads to age-related bone loss. Factors that promote positive bone balance in adults include exercise, anabolic, and anti-resorptive drugs, and conditions that promote bone formation over bone resorption (e.g., ?hungry bone? syndrome, osteoblastic prostate cancer). On the other hand, immobilization, weightlessness, and sex steroid deficiency, among others, produce negative bone balance.
In cases of inadequate calcium consumption, there is an increased risk or calcium deficiency, osteoporosis, osteopenia, osteomalacia, and other calcium-related disorders.
This does not mean that by taking? only? calcium supplements, all the above-mentioned disorders can be taken care of.
In certain cases, the diet may be adequate but the entire amount of calcium consumed may not be absorbed by the body. Therefore it is important to ensure that the major amount of calcium consumed gets absorbed in the body. A number of factors, like certain vitamins and minerals, are involved in this. This suggests that a balanced supplementation including all vital minerals is essential.
Vitamin D plays a crucial role in absorbing calcium. If there is no Vitamin D, calcium will not be absorbed and hence calcium tablets will be of no use. Hence, vitamin D supplementation is equally important since it cannot be produced by the body. Few foods naturally contain small amounts of Vitamin D, such as canned salmon with bones and egg yolks. You can also get Vitamin D from fortified foods and sun exposure.
Magnesium also has a role in calcium absorption and secretion of hormones that regulate calcium absorption. Magnesium deficiency may lead to a generalized decrease in bone mineral density, resulting in osteopenia and osteoporosis (osteodystrophy). Symptoms like bone pain, tenderness, muscle weakness, and difficulty in walking with an increased risk of falls and fractures may occur. Vitamin K is found to increase bone mineral density in osteoporotic people and decrease fracture rates. Vitamin K also influences calcium balance positively. Vitamins K and D, are found to work synergistically on bone density. Dietary sources of Vitamin K are meat, fish, fruits, green vegetables, grains, cheese and other milk products, eggs, and margarine. Vitamin B6 is involved in maintaining the bone health of our body. Vitamin B6 deficiency may cause changes in the bone causing increased bone cavities and reduction in new bone formation. If you don't get enough calcium, you could face health problems related to weak bones:
- Children may not reach their full potential adult height.
- Adults may have low bone mass, which is a risk factor for osteoporosis.
- Children and adolescent girls are at particular risk, but so are adults age 50 and older
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