Calcium is a mineral. It is often associated with healthy bones and teeth.
99% of calcium stored in our bones and only 1% circulates in our body via blood circulation.
Role of calcium in the body
• It helps to strengthen bones and teeth.
• It regulates muscle functioning, such as contraction and relaxation - Calcium helps regulate muscle contraction. When a nerve stimulates a muscle, the body releases calcium. The calcium helps the proteins in muscle carry out the work of contraction.
• regulating heart functioning- Calcium relaxes the smooth muscle that surrounds blood vessels.
• blood clotting - The process of clotting is complex and has a number of steps. These involve a range of chemicals, including calcium.
• transmission of nervous system messages.
• enzyme function - Calcium is a co-factor for many enzymes. Without calcium, some key enzymes cannot work efficiently.
Body gets calcium from 2 sources –
1. food or supplements
2. bone itself – our body has ability to draw calcium from our bones where it maximally stored whenever there is deficiency.
Calcium requirements
How much calcium you need depends on your age and sex.
Calcium: Recommended daily amount
Men
19-50 years 1,000 mg
51-70 years 1,000 mg
71 and older 1,200 mg
