The Need for Calcium
The Need for Calcium
Calcium is essential to maintaining total body health. Your body needs it
every day not just to keep your bones and teeth healthy. Calcium
likewise ensures proper functioning of muscles and nerves. It also gives
your body that essential blood clotting factor--without it, you could
literally bleed to death at the slightest skin scratch.
So if you've been experiencing frequent nose bleeds lately for no
apparent reason, consider having your family doctor look into a possible
calcium deficiency.
What happens when your body runs out of calcium supply? Well it
doesn't sound any alarm bells. Instead, it asks the bones, "Can I borrow
some calcium?" Imagine what happens when the amount of calcium
borrowed is never returned by the blood? You can figure that one out!
This explains why you need to fortify your body with calcium. The
Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) is 1,000 mg. for men and
1,200 mg. for women on a daily basis.
Calcium absorption depends greatly on how much your body needs it--
and this changes depending on how active you are. As you grow older,
your body loses it's innate ability to absorb the precious mineral. You
can remedy the situation a bit by increasing your Vitamin D intake
naturally--that is, by staying out under the sun for some outdoor activity
(don't forget to wear sunblock, of course!).
Warning: Calcium can easily dissipate when food containing it is cooked.
Hence, cook foods only when necessary, in a minimal amount of water
and for the shortest time possible. For example, you are getting
maximum calcium intake when eating the fish in sashimi or sushi.