Fitness Gear: What is Calcium and Why You Need It- Fitness Training For Life

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Monday, March 10, 2008

What is calcium? Why do I need it? What does calcium do?

For starters, calcium is a mineral. According to the National Institute of Health, calcium is the most abundant mineral in the human body, and one of the most important. Calcium is essential for basic bodily functions such as muscle contraction, blood vessel contraction and expansion, the secretion of hormones and enzymes into the blood stream as well as basic nervous system functions. A constant and consistent level of calcium is stored in your bodily fluids and tissues so that these vital functions will process efficiently. With such a big job to do, it is surprising that only one percent of your body’s calcium is stored in your blood, muscles and fluid between cells. The other ninety-nine percent of all you body’s calcium is stored in your teeth and bones. The human body’s bones are constantly breaking down and being built up by depositing calcium. The amount of break down and of build up changes through a person’s life, for example during childhood, breakdown is minimal and deposit and build up are maximal. As a person grows, this relationship comes to a balance around the age of thirty and then the scale tips the opposite direction for people over the age of fifty.

Not taking enough calcium, your body decreasing its calcium absorption as well as calcium loss in urine can overall decrease the total calcium in your body. If you do not maintain the necessary levels of calcium intake or if you experience a rapid loss of calcium in your system your body will take calcium from your bones to supply your blood and fluids with the calcium necessary for their functions.

Having low levels of calcium in your blood can result in many unpleasant things. It can cause severe muscle cramping, lethargy and tiredness, numbness and tingling in your fingers, mental confusion and disorientation, abnormal heart rhythms and in extreme cases, death. Carrying low levels of calcium in your bones can result in low bone density (porous bones), low bone strength, loss of bone production and ultimately osteoporosis.

Post-menopausal women are at the highest risk of calcium deficiency. This is a result of hormonal changes that occur naturally in a woman’s body and the greatest bone loss occurs in the first five year.

Next on the list of endangered individuals are amenorrhea women, or women whose menstrual periods stop during childbearing ages. This can be onset by many things, the primary of which is athletic amenorrhea. It is caused by any combination of several symptoms including low body weight, low percent body fat, rapid weight loss, sudden vigorous exercise, disordered eating and stress. Similar to post-menopausal women, the lack of menstruation is caused by a lack of the hormone estrogen.

Also at risk are lactose-intolerant individuals. Lactose is the naturally occurring sugar found in milk and dairy products. Their risk factors regarding low calcium intake have nothing to do with an inability to process calcium, but rather an avoidance of most calcium rich foods.

The last group of persons at risk for low calcium is vegetarians and vegans. Where vegetarians may consume the recommended doses of dairy in a day they also tend to intake high levels of other minerals found in greens and grain products that adversely affect the body’s ability to absorb calcium. Vegans on the other hand absorb these same minerals with out the intake of appropriate amounts of calcium, as they do not eat any dairy products. This sets them at high risk without a dietary supplement.

One last question…where do I get my calcium supplement? Core Cal-Mag is a calcium supplement that includes a daily dose of calcium without and lactose ingredients. By the makers of activit multivitamin formula and Core Omega 3 this supplement is as easy solution to the problems that can happen without your daily calcium. People who are on a weight loss program will need more calcium to stay healthy as they lose weight.

by: UltimateFitnessGear