Calcium is a key ingredient for bones and teeth, and they contain over 99 percent of the calcium found in the human body. The body can use it as a reserve and "pull it out" whenever necessary. Calcium absorption varies depending on sex, age and height. Its concentration in the body decreases with age because we lose it through perspiration, dead skin cells, urine and feces. The peak of bone density and strength is reached in the teenage years and remains so until the age of forty in women, mostly. After that, women lose 0,5 percent of their bone mass per year.
In men, such loss occurs several decades later. Bone loss is greater if not enough potassium is taken from the diet, which is very common today.
Bone loss in women over 40 can be reduced by taking calcium supplements. Some studies show that taking calcium for thirty years after menopause can increase bone strength by ten percent and even reduce the rate of bone fractures by 50 percent.
Bones constantly go through processes of decomposition and reconstruction, for which calcium is the key. That is why it is used for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, rickets and osteomalacia (disorder of bone mineralization in adults). It is also recommended for people taking corticosteroids to prevent bone loss.
If we eat a balanced diet, we can calculate that we get about 300 mg a day from products that do not contain milk, and for every cup of milk or calcium-enriched juice we get 300 mg of calcium.
Food sources of calcium are primarily milk and milk products, followed by kale, broccoli, spinach, Swiss chard, turnips, canned fish with bones, salmon, shellfish, mineral water, legumes, tofu, nuts, prunes, calcium-enriched juices and cereals.
Between 20 and 50 percent of calcium is absorbed from food, least of all from vegetables.
According to some studies, the recommended dose is 1000 mg for women up to 50 years old, or men up to 70 years old, 1.200 mg for the elderly, and 1000 mg for pregnant and lactating women, Nedeljnik reports.
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