Did you know calcium needs are different between men and women? This is much due to the female hormone levels and the role they play with osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is a disease that causes our bones to weaken and break easily. It affects predominantly older women much due to the hormone, estrogen. Estrogen plays a vital role in building and maintaining bone and it comes into play for osteoporosis because oftentimes post menopausal, a women’s ovaries are producing much less estrogen.
However, prevention of osteoporosis starts early. Bones grow in size during childhood, gaining mass and strength. Peak mass of developed bone is around 90% by the age of 18 for girls. The amount of bone mass you obtain while you are young determines much of your skeletal health for the rest of your years to come. The risk for developing osteoporosis is high if strong bones are not developed from an early age, and if an eating disorder, poor eating, lack of physical activity, or another health problem prevents building bone mass in life, the less bone there is to draw on later in life.
In order to take the steps in building bone mass and preventing bone loss. Calcium is the one key nutrient to build strong bones; and throughout life our bones keep a balance between creating bone, and breaking down bone through the balance of calcium. When we do not consume enough calcium through our food, our body takes it from our bones, hence creating weak bones. Which is essentially the cause of osteoporosis. As you age, new bones can not be made fast enough to keep up with the bone loss; and after menopause, bone loss happens even more quickly due to low estrogen levels.
Calcium is not made in the body, it is absorbed through the foods we eat, and the absorption of calcium is dependent upon a few factors.
- The current calcium status in our body. If calcium levels are high, absorption will be lower and vise versa. During periods of growth, such as pregnancy, lactation, and most commonly childhood, as much as 75% of dietary calcium can be absorbed.
- Vitamin D. Calcium helps build stronger bones, but vitamin D helps the body better use calcium. Sun exposure for 20 minutes two to three times a week is usually enough for the body to produce effective vitamin D. However you can obtain it from fatty fish, cereal, fortified milk, or a supplement. Those aged 51 to 70 should get 400 IU every day, and those over age 70 should get about 600 IU.
- The bioavailability (or the absorption factor) of the calcium in the food chosen. For example, calcium is less bioavailable in plant foods than it is in animal-derived foods
- Outside of food, calcium supplements are also available
How much calcium you need also depends on your age:
- 9–18 years: 1,300 mg per day
- 19–50 years: 1,000 mg per day
- 51 and older: 1,200 mg per day
It is also important to note, calcium contains a threshold minimum. That is to say, significant amounts of calcium will not create a long- term gain of bone. Outside factors indicative to bone growth can be dependent upon genetics and levels of physical activity.
Other than bone remodeling, adequate calcium is necessary for many other aspects of good health. Our body uses calcium to help blood clot and muscle contractions on top of ensuring our organs and skeletal muscles are working properly. If you are looking for more ways to increase your health check out more supplements at Douglas Laboratories.