Calcium is one of the most important minerals in your body for a variety of reasons.
WHY DO YOU NEED CALCIUM?
We all know that calcium is necessary for strong bones and teeth.
What you may not know is that calcium is required for EVERY cell of the body to function in a healthy way.
Besides acting as a cellular ‘cement’ for bones, calcium is used by your nerves and muscles, and it also contributes to proper blood clotting.
Here’s an overview of the good things calcium does for your body:
Calcium promotes healthy bones and teeth for life.
Just as lime is necessary for strong concrete, calcium is needed for strong bones.
We think that bone is something solid and permanent, but it is a living, changing component or our bodies. Bone is constantly breaking down and being built back up again.
Calcium is continually deposited into multiplying bone cells, like the cement that holds together the particles of stone and sand in a chunk of concrete.
Your bone health through your life
The stronger the bone development during childhood, the healthier those bones will be in adulthood. That is, the stronger the foundation, the sturdier the eventual building.
During adolescence bones grow rapidly, so teens need a lot of calcium in their diet. Once a person reaches full growth (usually at the age of 26/27 when your leg bone finally reaches its full size and solidity), your nutritional need for calcium will stabilize.
But there are periods when calcium needs increase, such as during pregnancy, lactation, and healing from injuries.
In old age, the bones begin to lose some of their sturdiness (this is called osteopenia, “bone poverty”, a thinning of the bones, and its most severe form is calle osteoporosis or “fragile bones”).
