Calcium always finds it’s mention in anything regarding bones an muscles. Do you know why? Let’s find out;
Significance of Calcium:
Calcium is an essential element that almost every cell requires to perform multiple functions such as
- helping build bones and keep teeth healthy.
- regulating muscle contractions, including your heartbeat.
- making sure blood clots normally.
Why is calcium so crucial for bone health?
- Bone is living tissue that is constantly being broken down and replaced through the concerted actions of bone cells.
- Calcium plays a key role in skeleton mineralization. It is a process essential for the hardness and strength of bone. Insufficient calcium impairs skeletal mineralization due to which the quality of bone tissue can be compromised.
- The mineralized skeleton also functions as a reservoir for calcium. If you don’t get enough calcium in your diet, your body will take it from your bones to ensure normal cell function, which can lead to weakened bones.
- A lack of calcium could lead to a condition called rickets in children, and osteomalacia or osteoporosis in later life.
- Osteoporosis occurs when the creation of new bone doesn’t keep up with the loss of old bone. It is characterized by loss of bone mass. Due to weakened bones, fractures become common, so people with osteoporosis often don’t recover after a fall.
- Osteoporosis is often referred to as the ‘silent disease’ because, although almost 3 million people in the UK are estimated to have osteoporosis, worryingly few people know they have it until they break a bone. There are more than 300,000 fractures every year due to osteoporosis.
Sources of calcium
Human body is better able to absorb calcium from food than it can from supplements. Dietary sources of calcium include
- Milk, cheese and other dairy foods
- Green leafy vegetables – such as curly kale, okra
- Soya drinks with added calcium
- Bread and anything made with fortified flour
- Fish where you eat the bones – such as sardines and pilchards
Bone Fracture and Repair
- A broken bone or fracture can repair itself, provided that the conditions are right for the break to heal completely
- Factors that influence fracture healing are
- The degree of local trauma and bone loss
- The type of bone affected
- The degree of immobilization
- Age
- Hormones
- Natural processes of healing should be allowed to take their usual course and interference should be attempted only when needed.
Did you know?
Spinach contains high levels of calcium but the body cannot digest it all.
Lowered sex hormone levels tend to weaken bones.
