Vitamin D Benefits and Calcium Deficiency

13 Dec

Posted by admin as vitamins

Bone loss can not be entirely blamed on one’s lack of calcium. However, there is absolutely no doubt that calcium is a vital mineral for your bones. Scientific evidence points out that the level of calcium which you have accumulated during your childhood and adult years determine whether you are safe from or prone to various bone diseases.

In fact, before you even reach your teenage years, your body goes on a bone-building spree. And so during this period, an adequate amount of calcium in your body is crucial in reaching your peak bone mass or PBM, which simply means the highest level of bone strength and density that you will ever achieve in life. The higher PBM you have the better it is for your bone tissues to withstand the abuse of time and the usual wear and tear.

Basically, your bones are in a continuous cycle of breaking down and rebuilding. As you age, older bone tissues give way to newer ones. But the problems start to appear when your bones break down faster than they are rebuilt; which typically starts when one reaches the age of 40 or 50. But if you have enough calcium and you have a high peak bone mass, you have nothing to worry about because before your body’s bone building capability slows down or totally breaks down, you will have to be really old. Think about calcium as your advanced deposit for your bones. If you have more of this deposit, then your body is capable of spending more calcium for the rebuilding of your bones as you age in life; and you are also sure to enjoy more years of active living.

It does not matter whether you take calcium from supplements or direct from the food that you eat, what is important is that you must have sufficient levels of this mineral in your body. Currently, 1,000 milligrams of calcium is recommended daily for people aged 19 to 50 years; while for those who are over 50 years, a daily allowance of 1,200 milligrams of calcium is appropriate.

Dairy products like cheese and yoghurt can give you considerable amounts of calcium. You can also add soy products, like tofu and soy milk, to your diet to beef up your calcium supply. If calcium-rich food items are not a normal part of your diet, your next best source is calcium supplements.

The Forgotten Bone Essentials

However, because of the focus on calcium when it comes to bone health, many people forget about the other essential substances necessary for the efficient absorption of calcium in the body. Vitamin D and protein for instance have been relegated to oblivion; where in fact, these two nutrients play a vital part in the chemical processes needed in bone formation.

If Vitamin D is insufficient or absent in your body, then there is no use in devouring all the calcium nutrients you can get your hands on because you will absorb less or no calcium if you do not have Vitamin D. You can have Vitamin D through ample exposure to sunlight, early morning sunlight before 10AM is perfect; or you can also take supplements for this nutrient.

Protein, on the other hand, is a very contentious issue when it comes to bone health. There are some quarters in the medical field which suggest that protein can be a bane for your bones. But there are also those who have found out that dietary protein is important in fine-tuning the body’s ability to produce and maintain bone tissues. The key here is to balance the amount of protein in your system so that you reap all its rewards without compromising the health of your bones.

Other useful information available on web:

1. Calcium Sources - HealthVitaminsGuide.com
2. Vitamin D Sources - HealthVitaminsGuide.com

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