Healthy Life

Is calcium important for our organism?

You decide

Calcium is a mineral that has various functions in our body. These are some of the most important: 99% of our bones are formed by this mineral, the remaining 1% is found in the form of plasma calcium (in the blood) needed by the organism to carry out countless functions such as muscle contraction, transmission of nerve impulses, blood coagulation, hormone secretion, etc.

Our body constantly eliminates calcium through urine, feces and transpiration. In order to keep a balance, calcium losses must be recovered through an adequate daily intake, starting in childhood. Otherwise, the organism takes what it needs from the bones, contributing to, among other factors, the development of osteoporosis, a silent disease that makes the bone become hollow in its interior, thus being more prone to suffer a fracture.

How much calcium must be consumed daily?

The daily consumption of calcium varies according to age, sex and physiological condition: pregnancy and lactation.

In general, the human body needs 1,000 and 1,200 mg of calcium daily.

What should be eaten daily to ensure an adequate consumption of this mineral?

2 glasses of milk + 1 glass of skimmed yoghourt + 3 oz. of cheese (approximately a slice of cheese of the size of a medium-sized palm and the thickness of the little finger)

In case of lactose intolerance, the following substitutions may be done:

• Lactose-free milk instead of regular milk. The market offers skimmed, lactose-free milk.
• Yoghourt with prebiotics, preferably skimmed, instead of regular yoghourt. These also facilitate digestion.
• Calcium-fortified soy milk instead of cow milk.
• Processed or mature cheese instead of soft cheese. Preferably low in fat.

In addition, other high-calcium foods may be consumed: leguminous foods (beans, chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans, and butter beans), tofu (soy cheese), broccoli, sesame seeds, fortified products (cereals, juices). Although calcium needs are hard to fulfill only by consuming these products, they are an important complement.

TIP: to ensure an adequate absorption and use of the calcium consumed, it is important to include vitamin D in our diet. Due to this, most of the calcium-source supplements and products are fortified with this substance. Another way of obtaining this vitamin is to expose oneself to sun light daily, at least for 10 minutes in the early hours.