Calcium And Your Bones: An Orthopedic Doctor's Perspective
In our childhood day's one can remember that our mother forcing us to drink milk everyday without fail. Because she better knows that our body needs calcium to keep our bones dense and strong. Low bone density can cause your bones to become brittle and fragile and leads to break easily, even with out an obvious injury.
The information included here will help you to learn and educate yourself about two most important nutrients for our bone health.
What is Calcium and What Does it Do?
Calcium is the major building block of bones. It’s deposited as a crystal in our bones and gives them their hard strength. Bone also acts as a storage bank for calcium so when we don’t get enough calcium in our diets, the body will snatch the calcium it needs from our bones to use for other important functions. If it is not replaced our bones will become porous and lose their strength.
That’s why it’s so important to have a daily supply of calcium, throughout our lives. Different ages, genders and stages of life require different amounts of calcium.
Facts We should know that:
Calcium: Beyond your bones
Source of rich calcium food:
Milk and dairy products are the best sources of calcium. This includes yogurts, cheeses, and buttermilk, which contain a form of calcium that your body can absorb easily.
Adults should choose fat-free (skim) milk or low-fat (2% or 1%) milk, and other lower fat dairy products. Removing some of the fat does not lower the amount of calcium in a dairy product.
Yogurt, most cheeses, and buttermilk come in fat-free or low-fat versions.
Vitamin D helps your body use calcium, which is why vitamin D is often added to milk in the production.
If you eat very few or no dairy products, you can find calcium in other foods. It is often added to orange juice, soy milk, tofu, ready-to-eat cereals, and breads. Check the labels on these foods for added calcium.
Green leafy vegetables -- such as broccoli, collards, kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, and bok Choy (Chinese cabbage) -- are good sources of calcium.
Other foods that can help you get enough calcium are:
Salmon and sardines that are canned with their bones (you can eat these soft bones)
Almonds, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, tahini (sesame paste), and dried beans
Blackstrap molasses.
Vitamin supplements are another source of calcium—either in a multivitamin or in a calcium or calcium with vitamin D supplement. The National Institutes of Health says to check the label of your supplement, because calcium is best absorbed when taken in amounts of no more than 500 mg at a time.
Tips for adding more dairy to your diet—even if you don’t like milk
In our childhood day's one can remember that our mother forcing us to drink milk everyday without fail
The information included here will help you to learn and educate yourself about two most important nutrients for our bone health.
What is Calcium and What Does it Do?
Calcium is the major building block of bones. It’s deposited as a crystal in our bones and gives them their hard strength. Bone also acts as a storage bank for calcium so when we don’t get enough calcium in our diets, the body will snatch the calcium it needs from our bones to use for other important functions. If it is not replaced our bones will become porous and lose their strength.
That’s why it’s so important to have a daily supply of calcium, throughout our lives. Different ages, genders and stages of life require different amounts of calcium.
Facts We should know that:
- Bone building is at its peak during childhood and adolescence, and bone density is at its maximum by your twenties.
- Bone calcium begins to decrease in young adulthood and is progressively lost as we age, particularly in women. However, if we continue to look after our bones we can help to maintain our bone strength.
- Teens, especially girls, whose diets don't provide the nutrients to build bones to their maximum potential are at greater risk of developing the bone disease osteoporosis, which increases their risk of fractures from weakened bones.
- When kids get enough calcium and physical activity during childhood and the teen years, they can start out their adult lives with the strongest bones possible.
- It helps your body send and receive nerve signals.
- It helps muscle contraction.
- It helps release hormones.
- It helps keep a normal heartbeat.
- It helps with blood clotting
How much Calcium do We need daily?
Milk and dairy products are the best sources of calcium. This includes yogurts, cheeses, and buttermilk, which contain a form of calcium that your body can absorb easily.
Adults should choose fat-free (skim) milk or low-fat (2% or 1%) milk, and other lower fat dairy products. Removing some of the fat does not lower the amount of calcium in a dairy product.
Yogurt, most cheeses, and buttermilk come in fat-free or low-fat versions.
Vitamin D helps your body use calcium, which is why vitamin D is often added to milk in the production.
If you eat very few or no dairy products, you can find calcium in other foods. It is often added to orange juice, soy milk, tofu, ready-to-eat cereals, and breads. Check the labels on these foods for added calcium.
Green leafy vegetables -- such as broccoli, collards, kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, and bok Choy (Chinese cabbage) -- are good sources of calcium.
Other foods that can help you get enough calcium are:
Salmon and sardines that are canned with their bones (you can eat these soft bones)
Almonds, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, tahini (sesame paste), and dried beans
Blackstrap molasses.
Vitamin supplements are another source of calcium—either in a multivitamin or in a calcium or calcium with vitamin D supplement. The National Institutes of Health says to check the label of your supplement, because calcium is best absorbed when taken in amounts of no more than 500 mg at a time.
Tips for adding more dairy to your diet—even if you don’t like milk
- Use milk instead of water when making oatmeal or other hot breakfast cereals.
- Substitute milk for some of the liquid in soups such as tomato, squash, pumpkin, curries, etc.
- Milk can be added to many sauces or used as the base in sauces such as Alfredo and Béchamel sauce.
- Make whole-wheat pancakes and waffles using milk or yogurt.
- Get creative with plain yogurt. Use it to make a dressing or a dip, or try it on potatoes in place of fattier sour cream.
- Add milk or yogurt to a fruit smoothie. You can even freeze blended smoothies for popsicles.
- Enjoy a small piece of cheese for dessert or as a snack. Try cheddar, mozzarella, Gouda,
jack
Getting enough calcium in your diet is not just important for older people. It’s vital for children, teens, and young adults under the age of 30 to get enough calcium to build bone mass. Making smart choices now will help you avoid serious bone loss later in life. But no matter your age, you can take steps to protect your bones and put the brakes on any kind of bones related problems.
