Calcium and a Healthy Diet.
It is important to understand the place calcium should have in
your diet. Even though there have recently there have been
several news items outlining the effects of having to little
calcium in the average diet; the chances are that most people
still don't fully appreciate the effect of calcium on your
digestive processes and the working of your heart.
Calcium is one of the basic elements that have got to be there
throughout the processing of our food during the digestive
process, and during the beating of your heart. If you are
suffering from a calcium deficiency in these two areas, then
that can contribute to heart disease and osteoporosis where the
bones are weakened. If you don't take enough calcium in via your
daily diet or with vitamins, your body will start to extract the
calcium reserves in your bones, to enable it to have enough to
maintain the normal body processes. This is why older women are
often susceptible to developing osteoporosis, and many of them
don't even realize they are at risk from this debilitating
condition. Once the amount of calcium in your blood drops to a
low level, the body will start to draw calcium out of the bones.
This will result the bones becoming more porous and brittle.
This explains the rise in broken hips in older people,
especially women.
To be able to absorb calcium into our bones two things are
required the female hormone estrogen and exercise (even though
estrogen is a female hormone it is present in males as well). As
those of use who are somewhat older will know, both of these
things are in shorter supply during our later years, mainly
because the body doesn't create estrogen after the menopause,
and as we get older, we gradually lose the ability to exercise
to the same degree.
If you have decided that you want to supplement your calcium
levels, there are certain forms of calcium that are more easily
digested. The best absorbed type of calcium comes in the form of
a pill in the form of calcium salt like calcium carbonate or
calcium phosphate.
You do need to be careful about some forms of Calcium on the
market today, both bone meal calcium and dolomite calcium have
been found to some times contain toxic metals such as arsenic,
mercury, lead, and cadmium. Also you may have heard that
antacids contain calcium that you can use as a supplement
instead of vitamins, this information is quite correct. However,
to have any effect you'd have to take a handful of antacids and
quite often they contain substances that disrupt the digestive
process so it is best not to use them in this way. The best
advice to get a supplement to you calcium level is to purchase a
good calcium carbonate or phosphate vitamin supplement and
establish the regular habit of taking them first thing in the
morning with your breakfast.
However one word of warning, if you suffer from heart, kidney,
liver disease, or high blood pressure, you must consult a
physician before taking calcium supplements because they could
result in taking to much calcium because the medicine you're
already taking may contain a built in supplement, or may cause a
reaction if combined with calcium.
The recommended daily dosage is 800 milligrams of calcium each
day. This level is fairly accurate for most women until they are
past the menopause and the level of estrogen production is
reduced or even stops all together. At that time, calcium intake
should be increased to a level of 1500 milligrams per day;
almost double that of pre-menopausal women.
By the sensible use of a calcium supplement many experts think
that you can help to off set some the problems associated with
brittle bones in later life and also maintain a better heart
function.
DISCLAIMER:
This information is not presented by a medical practitioner and
is for educational and informational purposes only. The content
is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical
advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your
physician or other qualified health care provider with any
questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never
disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it
because of something you have read.
Since natural and/or dietary supplements are not FDA approved a
two-part disclaimer must accompany them on the product label:
that FDA has not evaluated the statement and that the product is
not intended to "diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease."