calcium in the human body

Contents

The role and importance of calcium for the human body
Lack of calcium
- Calcium-rich foods
Excess calcium
Popular questions and answers

Thanks to calcium, our bones and teeth remain strong, it affects metabolism and the transmission of nerve impulses to the muscles. What is the danger of a lack of this element in the body and what can its overabundance lead to, we will learn from experts

Calcium is one of the most significant macronutrients in our body, it is one of the 15 essential or vital bioelements. The human body contains about a kilogram of calcium. Most of it is in the skeleton.

And in the blood it is present in the form of two fractions: “free”, or ionized calcium, and associated with plasma proteins, phosphates and citrates.

The role and importance of calcium for the human body

Calcium is responsible for the strength of bones and teeth.
Calcium affects metabolism and blood clotting.
It is responsible for the transmission of nerve impulses to the muscles.
Calcium compounds increase the body’s resistance to infections and other adverse factors.

Lack of calcium

The lack of calcium as an element of which the bone tissue consists, manifests itself in the fragility of the bones, which can lead to fractures. For a young person, this is not so scary, but for an elderly person it is potentially dangerous. In old age, bones fuse more slowly and a long recovery process can be detrimental to health and the psyche.

Teeth crumble and fall out, hair and nails become brittle – all these unpleasant phenomena are also associated with a lack of calcium.

With a lack of ionized calcium (determination of its amount in the blood is considered the most informative for diagnosis), neuromuscular excitability increases, blood clotting and heart rhythm are disturbed.

Also, a lack of calcium leads to neuroses, depression and irritability.¹.

By the way!
A decrease in bone density is not always due to a lack of calcium. In adulthood, the cause often lies in the natural change in hormone production, in which hormone replacement therapy is prescribed.

What is commonly called calcium deficiency is rather a mild deficiency, approaching the lower limits of the norm (from 1.16 to 1.32 mmol / l.). If there is less calcium, the person, as a rule, already falls into a coma. True calcium deficiency is not related to dietary habits. Such an acute deficiency is possible only as a result of a serious illness: chronic renal failure, cancer and other serious conditions.

Calcium-rich foods

Calcium enters the human body with food. It is believed that calcium is best absorbed from milk and dairy products, so a balanced diet involves drinking about 0,5 liters of milk per day.¹.

The amount of calcium, mg	Products
More 100	Cheese, milk, kefir, cottage cheese, beans, parsley, green onion
51 – 100	Sour cream, eggs, buckwheat and oatmeal, peas, carrots, horse mackerel, herring, carp, caviar
25 – 50	Butter, mackerel, perch, pike perch, cod, millet, pearl barley, bread from flour of the 2nd grade, cabbage, green peas, radishes, beets, apricots, cherries, plums, grapes, oranges, strawberries

Excess calcium

An excess of calcium (hypercalcemia) can lead to the development of calcification – mineral deposits in soft tissues, internal organs and blood vessels. Hypercalcemia occurs, as a rule, due to serious diseases: acute renal failure, malignant tumors and bone metastases, diseases of the blood and thyroid gland, etc.

Taking calcium supplements to heal a fracture faster and make bones denser is a pointless undertaking. The excess will be excreted by the kidneys, causing harm to the body, which can manifest itself in convulsions, muscle spasms, heart palpitations and gastrointestinal disorders.

Taking calcium supplements by themselves as a dietary supplement should be justified. Before starting it, it is worth going through a laboratory test as prescribed by your doctor, and determine whether there is really a lack of this microelement.

Important!
If the calcium levels in the blood change, the doctor may prescribe an examination for the content of vitamin D, phosphorus. The fact is that calcium metabolism is closely related to these elements. Their ratio may be more important than the content of each of them separately, and will help to find out the real cause of calcium imbalance.

Popular questions and answers

Helped us answer common questions about calcium in the body Kirill Yuvchenko, medical director of the Lifetime+ digital laboratory.

How to take calcium correctly?

Calcium supplements are best taken with food to improve their absorption. But we must keep in mind that without vitamin D, calcium is absorbed much worse. And here a reasonable approach is important. If you take vitamin D in large quantities (over 4000 IU), this can lead to calcium retention in the renal tubules and the formation of urolithiasis.

What else can interfere with the normal absorption of calcium?

An obstacle to the normal absorption of calcium can be smoking, excess salt in the diet and phytic acid, which is contained in the shell of whole grains. Coffee, tea and carbonated drinks remove calcium from the body faster than the intestines can absorb it.

What foods contain the most calcium?

The main and most accessible source of calcium is dairy products: cheese, milk, kefir, cottage cheese, curdled milk, fermented baked milk, etc.

A lot of calcium is found in nuts (almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios are especially rich in them), seeds (sesame and chia are calcium champions), leafy greens (pay attention to kale and spinach salad), tofu cheese.

Why does a woman’s body need calcium?

The importance of calcium is the same for men and women. But during menopause, the risk of calcium deficiency and osteoporosis increases. Problems with the skin, hair and nails associated with a lack of calcium are more painful for women than men. Therefore, this most important element must be kept under control by women during menopause, young ladies of high stature with excessive thinness. And to pay attention to symptoms such as numbness, tingling in the fingers, fatigue and exhaustion – all this can be a signal of a lack of calcium.

Why does a man need calcium?

The role of calcium for the body as a whole does not depend on gender. Moreover, men and women require the same amount of calcium. Perhaps, men have higher certain risk factors that can lead to a lack of calcium – the abuse of alcohol and tobacco.

How to know the level of calcium in the body?

To determine the level of calcium, laboratory tests are used: for ionized calcium, total calcium and the study of the composition of hair and nails. The first two are usually prescribed by a doctor, the latter is suitable for a healthy person who is interested in monitoring the balance in the body. This analysis will display the balance between the intake and excretion of calcium from the body over the time during which this hair or nail has grown.

To determine the concentration of calcium in the bones, a special technique is used using x-rays or ultrasound – densitometry.

Sources of

Mikheeva L. A., Brynskikh G. T., Mironycheva T. S. Comparative analysis of calcium content in calcium-containing pharmaceutical preparations and biologically active additives // Ulyanovsk Medical Biological Journal. 2013. No. 1. https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/sravnitelnyy-analiz-soderzhaniya-kaltsiya-v-kaltsiysoderzhaschih-farmatsevticheskih-preparatah-i-biologicheski-aktivnyh-dobavkah