Foods high in Calcium
Foods high in Calcium |
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Calcium Rich Foods List
Calcium is an essential mineral, especially for children. It's primary role is to build strong bones and teeth, but it also helps in the clotting of blood and in the functioning of nerves. We get most of our calcium from our diet but sometimes supplementation is needed.
Out of all the minerals in our body, calcium is present in the largest quantity - a little over a kilo's worth, in fact. Our bones and our teeth make up nearly the entire amount; a tiny remainder is in our tissues and blood. Calcium works with another mineral, phosphorus, in building and maintaining our bones and teeth. But just because bones and teeth contain calcium it doesn't mean that once it is there it remains for good. Every day about a third of our calcium leaves our bones and has to be renewed through the calcium we absorb from calcium rich food or from supplements. In children the calcium is renewed almost yearly; in adults about every ten years.
The process means that we must get calcium regularly to make up for the loss, which is why it is such a vital mineral to obtain from foods rich in calcium. It is even more vital for growing children and the elderly.
Some foods affect the way that the body absorbs calcium. vitamin D, for instance, is essential to its absorption, and we can obtain adequate supplies of this vitamin from rich foods and supplements and also from the ultraviolet rays of the sun. However, calcium absorption may be prevented by diets that are over-rich in spinach, rhubarb, tea, cocoa and chocolate, though it is rare that our consumption of these foods and drinks are so high as to cause a problem. A good intake of protein is also needed to aid in the absorption of calcium, but if the diet is too high in protein, its absorption may be decreased again.
The amount of calcium we need is finely balanced, with the correct levels being maintained by a combination of the workings of the parathyroid glands and the action of vitamin D. Calcium levels that become upset can be corrected by adjusting the diet or by supplementation.
A List of Rich Sources of calcium
What if you're not getting Calcium from Rich food Sources?The RDA for calcium is 1000mg per day for normal adults. A lack of calcium can bring on a number of conditions. The most important one is rickets, which affects bone growth and causes bone deformities in children. in adults, primarily the elderly, a lack of calcium will cause osteoporosis. This condition is caused by a combination of factors: loss of bone mass as people get older; poor diets, which are low in both calcium and vitamin D; and a lack of sunlight. Post menopausal women are particularly prone to osteoporosis (brittle bones) because their oestrogen levels, which help build up calcium, decrease. A calcium deficiency may also produce other symptoms which include abnormal blood clotting and irregular heart rhythms, and nerve problems such as muscle spasms and cramps, facial twitching and weak muscles. Too much calcium together with excessive amounts of vitamin D, may result in the formation of kidney stones, and symptoms like vomiting and stomach pain.
Who Needs Calcium?Growing children and the elderly, particularly post-menopausal women, must ensure that they get their complete requirements of calcium, together with vitamin D. If their diets are poor or, in the case of children, they don't like foods rich in calcium, then supplements are a simple way to ensure that they are getting a sufficient amount of this essential mineral. Pregnant and breast-feeding women should increase the amount of calcium in their diet, more for themselves than for their babies. Drinking an extra pint of milk over and above their requirement should ensure an adequate intake. Other people who will need extra calcium are vegans, who don't eat dairy foods, people who don't eat green vegetables, and those trying to lose weight. Finally, convalescents, especially those who are bed bound, and those who get only the minimum amount of exercise need extra calcium; the more you exercise, the less calcium you lose from your body. Calcium content in foods. The list of high calcium foods is above.
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