CALCIUM - a building block of bones and teeth.


Calcium - a building blocks of bones and teeth.

 Calcium is one of the important mineral present in the body. Nearly, 99% of the total body calcium is found in bones and teeth. Being the hardest mineral , its deposition gives shapes and structure to our body and jaws respectively.

In children, calcium contributes to the development of bones and teeth. After a person stops growing, calcium continues to help maintain the bones and slow down bone density loss, which is a natural part of the aging process. 

Other functions of Calcium include,

  • It helps to regulate muscles and heart contractions.
  • It plays a major role in clotting of blood.
  • It is also a co-factor of many enzyme especially lipase and proteolytic enzymes.
  • It helps to carry messages from brain to other parts of your body.
  • It helps in the absorption of Vitamin B12  in the intestine.
  • It helps to increase the permeability of cell walls.
💪Sources :-


  In animal sources, milk and milk products like cheese, curd, butter, paneer ,etc are the best sources of calcium.
Apart from these eggs, shrimps, meat, etc contain less amount of calcium.

🍎Dietary intake of calcium throughout different life stage:-

The recommended dietary intake of calcium is different for people of different ages and life stages.

Age and life stageRecommended dietary intake of calcium (mg/day)
Babies 0–6 months – breastfedapprox. 210 mg
Babies 0–6 months – formula fedapprox. 350 mg
Babies 7–12 months270 mg
Children 1–3 years500 mg
Children 4–8 years700 mg
Children 9–11 years1,000 mg
Adolescents 12–18 years (including pregnant and breastfeeding young women)1,300 mg
Women 19–50 (including pregnant and breastfeeding women)1,000 mg
Women 51–701,300 mg
Men 19–701,000 mg
Adults over 701,300 mg

🍒Deficiency of Calcium in the body:-
  • Common symptoms seen are general weakness during walking and climbing stairs and spontaneous multiple fractures.
  • Numbness in hands, feets and face,
  • Brittle nails,
  • Depression ,confusion and memory loss. 
  • In Children, it leads to Rickets.                                    Symptoms seen here are - Bones become soft and fragile, bowing of legs or knock knees, enlargement of wrist and ankle joints, muscles development is poor, walking may be delayed.
  • In Adults, it leads to Osteomalacia and Osteoporosis.                Symptoms seen here are - softening of bones of legs, spine, thorax and pelvis which may bend and show deformities. Multiple fractures which takes a long time to heal.
  • In Pregnant and Lactating women, deficiency of calcium affects the bones and brain development of the baby.
🍇LIst of some Calcium Rich Receipes :-
  • Broccoli soup or drumstick soup
  • Paneer Burji
  • Palak paneer
  • Sesame laddus
  • Sprout Salad
  • Nachni dosa,roti,sheera,
  • All type of milkshakes especially banana milkshakes, etc.
Below is the link which shares some more calcium rich recepies....

https://www.tarladalal.com/recipes-for-calcium-rich-375

🍓Points to be remembered:- 

Following are the measures to built up calcium level in the body:-
  • Calcium absorption takes place in presence of Vitamin D. Thus, Vitamin D should be adequately provided to the body for more calcium absorption.
  • Soak, sprout and ferment legumes, nuts and grains
  • Cook oxalate- rich foods such as spinach, amaranth and cocoa
  • Add lemon juice (or other citric acids)to your dishes. This promotes more calcium absorption.
  • Eat foods rich in amino acids, lysine and arginine.
  • Avoid drinking coffee and green/black tea directly before, during or after a meal.
  • Incorporate calcium rich foods into your meal several times a day.
  • Calcium rich food should not be combined with iron rich food in the diet.
Concluding myself, 

Calcium is essential mineral required at every stage of life. Minor deficiency in it needs to be corrected immediately through  intake of proper calcium-rich diets in your meal. Incase the deficiency persists consult your doctor. Calcium supplements along with calcium rich food will speedily help to correct your calcium deficiency in the body. A strong and healthy bones and teeth will help to maintain your overall body structure throughout your life.













 

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