Calcium is the chemical element that is responsible for the strength of the body’s bones. It is also necessary in other life processes such as blood clotting and the ability of the nerves and muscles to communicate properly. Calcium dietary supplements, along with Vitamin D, are often used in geriatric patients because this is the group that is at greatest risk from fractures that are the result of “thinning” of the bones, a condition known as “osteoporosis.”

Calcium and vitamin D should be taken together to be of maximum benefit.

Throughout life the body is constantly dissolving older bone cells and replacing them with new, stronger cells. However, as age increases, the body becomes less efficient at this process and calcium from the old cells is not reused nor is new calcium properly used to replace what has been lost. There are many reasons why this can occur, but the most common are a decrease in the production of estrogen (in women) and a decrease in the amount of calcium available in the diet (affecting both men and women). In both conditions, increasing the geriatric patient’s calcium intake has been shown effective in the prevention of new fractures.

The most widely used form of calcium as a dietary is a compound known as calcium carbonate, which is usually provided as a pill or capsule. Although the amount of calcium per capsule or pill will vary by manufacturer, a total dosage of 500 mg per day is a recommended starting dosage.

The body is incapable of using calcium directly to make new bone cells. In order to produce new cells, vitamin D must also be present.

Vitamin D is also known as the “sunshine vitamin” because the body can can manufacture it from simpler substances when the skin It has been repeatedly noted that geriatric patients, because they spend relatively more time indoors, tend to have lower vitamin D levels than those who spend more time outdoors. Vitamin D is also felt to be important to the normal function of the body’s immune system as well.

For most geriatric patients, an adequate supply of vitamin D is provided by foods such as milk and dairy products to which vitamin D has been added. The packaging of such vitamin D-supplemented food is usually labeled as “vitamin D fortified” or some similar term.

The suggested daily allowance of vitamin D is 400 IU (International Units) per day, which is the same as 10 micrograms. Vitamin D supplements are also available at pharmacies and health food stores.

While no one set of instructions will be appropriate for all geriatric patients, daily nutritional supplements containing calcium and vitamin D can be important in both the prevention of osteoporosis and in maintaining a healthy immune system.

By: Ian Pennington

We all know that whether we are old, young, or newborn, we all need certain amount of calcium. Research has shown calcium is very important to our body. Calcium is essential for healthy bones and teeth.

We all have heard from our parents, doctors and even TV commercials that calcium is important to us. What they have not told us though is that when do we get enough calcium for our bones, as a matter of fact, our bones need calcium, but to be literally robbed of it? That is scary!

What is calcium?

This is a type of mineral that helps in our muscle and nerves developments and to function properly. It’s mandatory that we have it. We don’t get to choose. When we don’t have enough, and most of us don’t, it will be taken from our bones. That part is actually the normal process.

What get us into trouble?

It’s what happens next that gets us in trouble. The calcium we take in is supposed to go replace that calcium that was just taken out of our bones. So if we do not take enough in, we literally lose bone. That’s why we should take the calcium vitamin supplement if we’re not able to eat enough calcium rich foods every day.

How we lose calcium?

We also lose this mineral every day in skin cells that fall off by sweating and it’s in our urine. This happens day in, day out. So what we have got to do is put it back every day.
Those who take supplements probably take the vitamin supplement calcium more than anything else because we all lose it and it’s not as easy to get it back as it is say, vitamin C. No one should be deficient in vitamin C.

What are the foods that have calcium?

There are a lot of foods that contain calcium. We know that milk does. Low-fat milk and whole milk have calcium. Cheese and dairy products have calcium. So do green, leafy vegetables. The problem is as adults we need between 1000-1300 mg a day.

How much are we losing?

According to studies, we’re losing some 400-500 mg a day so we can’t afford to skip one day. If we make the effort, we can eat enough calcium rich foods but if we don’t do that, we need to take the vitamin supplement calcium stuff.

We have seen how a little old lady with osteoporosis bent over during the TV commercial, and telling us to drink milk, eat cheese and take the vitamin supplement calcium.

This makes sense why the poor little old lady looks like that when you realize that our bodies will not take no for an answer. Our bodies know exactly where to go to get the calcium it needs and that is exactly what it does by robbing our bones. It’s up to us to put it back.

However, it is comical in a pitiful way that when we come home and found that we had been robbed and the police called us and said, “Great, I have good news for you, we found your stuff!”

How long would it take us to say, “Alright!” “I’ll be right down to get it.” Then we would go get our stuff and take it home and put it back. Right?

What have been robbed is just calcium vitamin health products and we have to replaced it as fast as it is robbing day in, day out.

Besides knowing who robbed us of our calcium and why is it important to take calcium vitamin supplements, having said that, this should give you another choice of health supplements thus should enable your health to get a good booster. Before you are going to consume any calcium health products, you need to first consult your physician.

However, many people sometimes tend to take calcium vitamin supplements for granted as that are many types of good calcium vitamin supplements, but having the right knowledge to use the right type of vitamin supplements to the max for various kinds of chronic of illnesses is crucial.

Therefore, without a proper understanding of using various kinds of health supplements to treat various anxiety and anger management system, there will not be much free lifestyle to hope for.

Apply this effective tips together with an thorough understanding of vitamin health food is important so that you enjoy your life once again.

By: Eddy K Elgin