Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Calcium Supplements

May 10, 2011 by  
Filed under Supplements

Calcium is one of the most vital building blocks that your body has to have. Everybody requires a constant replenishment of calcium, but it is especially necessary for children in order to help them build healthy teeth and bones.

It is crucial for pregnant mothers so that the baby gets all the calcium that it needs without having to steal it from Mum and older people require it to stave off osteoporosis, to which elderly women are particularly prone.

Most individuals rely on milk to supply their calcium, but there is increasing evidence that most people cannot derive calcium from milk. A lot of children can but not all and very few adults. Some races of human beings are better at getting calcium from milk than others. Red meat is a decent source of calcium and so is cheese, but this does not help vegetarians and vegans.

If you cannot take dairy products or eat meat, then you should be consuming calcium supplements to be certain of the health of your bones and teeth. There are a number of kinds of calcium tablets: some are solid and can be soluble or not and some are chewable.

Whichever sort you choose to take you ought to eat them before or after a meal but not during and you should not take them in conjunction with any other tablets in case they interact with them.

As always, you should check with your medical doctor before taking calcium supplements because there are some conditions that calcium or too much calcium can aggravate. Pregnant women should mention that they take calcium tablets too, because the medical doctor might also be prescribing calcium in a general concoction of vitamins.

Too much calcium can be a difficulty for some individuals under some conditions especially those with some stomach conditions, kidney stones and diarrhea. If you eat meat and cheese, you might not need calcium and if you take supplements and already eat enough that might cause you long term problems as well.

Indications of taking too much calcium include constipation, vomitting, dizziness, nausea, dry mouth and a loss of appetite. If you experience any of these things you should stop taking calcium supplements and visit your physician.

It is easy for most individuals to acquire enough calcium in their standard diet. Those with the biggest problem in this matter are vegetarians, but calcium tablets are cheap enough. Calcium is often included in general purpose vitamin tablets as well, so acquiring your RDA should never be a problem.

In Asia, people do not eat much dairy produce and lots of rural Asians eat the bones of fish, small birds and small reptiles in order to ensure that they get enough calcium in their diet. Most Westerners would baulk at eating bones, but it is not unpleasant and helps keep teeth and gums strong as well.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a number of subjects, and is now concerned with omega 6 and omega 3. If you want to know more, please go to our site at Omega 6 9

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