We are often told by health specialists to introduce calcium-rich foods to our diet if we want to develop strong bones and teeth. Calcium not only helps in developing a strong skeletal system, but it also helps in protecting it from various diseases including degenerative disease. Calcium sources are broadly categorized as animal and plant sources.

Green leafy vegetables like broccoli, mustard greens, and Brussels are rich plant sources of calcium. One of the widely-known animal calcium sources is milk. Doctors normally advise to intake more vegetables than dairy products because in addition to useful nutrients, they also contain some contaminants, cholesterol and fat.

These substances might be dangerous for obese people and those who do not like to exercise on a regular basis. Therefore, it is recommended to avoid animal sources of calcium as much as you can. Red meat, eggs and other dairy products are rich in protein and may cause calcium loss in your body.

Another source of obtaining calcium is to consume supplements rich in coral calcium. Coral calcium is essentially a salt mainly composed of calcium carbonate and has many health benefits associated with it.

If you have adequate amounts of calcium in your body you will be at a reduced risk of developing osteoporosis. Since calcium sources in food are hard to find and consume, doctors now suggest taking calcium-rich supplements. These are easy to consume and provide all the benefits of developing strong bones, and improving posture and strength. These products also contain other minerals and vitamins, for example vitamin D and K2 for the enhancement of your bone health. They are easily available online and most of the time these products don’t require a doctor’s prescription as they have already been approved by health specialists.

Some rich and easily digestible calcium sources are orange juice, spinach, oatmeal, beans, sweet potato, sesame seeds and raisins. In addition to increasing your intake of calcium you also need to reduce your consumption of protein-rich food, especially the ones that come from animal sources. Proteins tend to increase calcium loss through urine just like sodium. That’s why health experts tell us to reduce our intake of salt as much as we can.

Exercise is mandatory for proper absorption of calcium in bones. Don’t let proteins and other substances cause calcium loss in your body. If you are not used to doing physical exercise a lot, then take a walk or simply indulge yourself in household chores. Don’t sit idle for long periods of time. Vitamin D helps in controlling the amount of calcium in our body, therefore introduce vitamin D supplements to your diet after consulting a physician.

By: John Gibb

Supplementation with calcium and Vitamin D is routinely recommended to prevent osteoporosis and bone fractures in postmenopausal women. Taking calcium increases calcium in the blood, making more available for uptake into the bone. With normal aging, there is a decrease in calcium absorption by the stomach. Vitamin D is known to increase calcium absorption in the gut, as well as acting synergistically with calcium to promote bone density. This has led to the common practice of prescribing calcium and Vitamin D supplementation for the prevention of hip fractures. It sounds so good and all makes logical sense, and it can’t hurt, so why not go ahead and do it?

However, just because you become deficient in something with aging, doesn’t mean that supplementation will correct the problem. Studies have shown that calcium and vitamin D supplementation in people over age 65 increased total bone density, but not necessarily in areas that matter, like the femoral neck, which causes hip fracture. The only studies which showed that calcium and Vitamin D prevented hip fractures were done in French women who had osteoporosis and were living in nursing homes. However these women may have calcium and/or Vitamin D deficiency due to diet or lack of sunlight from being in a nursing home.

Other studies in individuals outside nursing homes found no beneficial effects from Vitamin D and calcium supplementation in terms of hip fracture prevention. One study of patients who had a fracture and became immobile did not find any benefit of Vitamin D and calcium in the prevention of secondary fractures. The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study included 36,282 premenopausal women age 50 to 79 who were randomly assigned to receive 1000 mg of calcium with 400 IU of Vitamin D-3 or placebo with a follow-up of 7 years for assessment of bone fracture. Supplementation did not reduce the risk of hip fracture. Although there was an increase in hip bone density, there was also an increase in kidney stones. Since increasing hipbone density has no practical benefit and is not related to reducing the risk of hip fracture, while increasing kidney stones is definitely negative, there is no reason to take these supplements.

Bottom line? Take a walk in the sun, and eat a balanced diet with lots of greens and vegetables to get your calcium fix.

By: Doug Bremner

We all know that calcium is needed for healthy bones and teeth. If calcium deficiency in the body is neglected for many years, it may cause bone disease in old age which is also known as osteoporosis in medical terms, and many other complications.

Calcium supplements or tablets are normally recommended by doctors all over the world to overcome calcium deficiency. These tablets provide up to 40% of elementary calcium obtained from food materials and help in its absorption by the bones. Therefore, calcium supplements and bone health are closely related to each other.

Calcium is mainly found in our bones, teeth, blood and cells. Almost 98% of calcium found in our body is accumulated in the bones where it is needed for proper growth and development of the skeletal system. Teenagers are advised to drink a lot of milk because this is the time when their bones are formed and after a time stop growing in length. Milk is composed of natural substances that help in maximum absorption of calcium in the bones.

Calcium supplements and bone health can be connected by the fact that they not only help in overcoming the deficiency of calcium in the body, but also prevent many degenerative diseases related to the skeletal system including osteoporosis.

Our immune system is mainly responsible for maintaining the health of bones. However, as we age our immune systems becomes weak and do not perform at its maximum due to other health conditions. At this age, the importance of nutritional supplements for bone health is emphasized by doctors and health specialists. Liquid calcium supplements and those available in tablet form are equally efficient and provide many benefits in terms of overall health and well-being.

In addition to the above-mentioned degenerative diseases, calcium is also important for the prevention of depression in women, PMS, obesity, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, kidney stones, muscle cramps, other skeletal problems and colon cancer.

There are minimal or no side effects of calcium supplements and are equally effective for adults and children. Try to find the ones made from calcium carbonate or more specifically coral calcium because it reduces acidity in the stomach and easily gets absorbed in the bloodstream if taken right after meals. Vitamin D helps in better absorption of calcium; therefore try to look for supplements that contain certain vitamins and minerals such as magnesium in addition to adequate quantities of calcium carbonate or calcium citrate.

By: John Gibb