Calcium for life - are you on the right track?

Calcium: An Important Part of a Healthy Lifestyle

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body and is found mostly in your bones, where it gives them strength. The body does not produce calcium, which means that you must get it from your daily diet. That's why a diet rich in calcium is so important, particularly when bones are growing and developing. Even after full bone development, you still need an adequate calcium intake throughout your life to keep your bones strong and healthy.

Calcium-rich bone: A calcium-rich diet contributes to the "density" of bone tissue, ensuring a strong and healthy skeleton.

Calcium-deficient bone: A calcium-poor diet in one factor that can make bones less dense and, as a result, weak and brittle.

This information is for people like you, who want to take a more active role in understanding their health, specifically the role that calcium plays in their body, the foods that contain it, and how much they need at different stages of life.

If they think about it at all, many people believe they consume enough calcium when in fact they don't. Find out now whether or not you get it from the best sources. Keep reading on about calcium to help you and your family make calcium-rich choices more often.

CALCIUM: Good for Bones and More

Why is calcium so important?

Apart from giving strength to your bones, calcium is necessary for many body functions. Practically every cell in your body, including those in your heart, nerves and muscles, relies on calcium to function properly.

In order for your body to function properly, the level of calcium in the blood must stay relatively constant. For this to happen, you need to consume enough calcium throughout the day - otherwise, you blood will "steal" calcium from your bones to maintain the level it requires. Think of your bones as a "bank". If your diet is low in calcium, your blood "withdraws" the calcium it needs from your bones. When you diet is rich in calcium, you make "deposits" in your calcium "bank". Over time, if your withdrawals exceed your deposits, your bones can begin to weaken and become more susceptible to breaking.

One in Four Women Will Suffer From Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a condition characterized by calcium-depleted bones that are so porous and fragile they can easily break - even a simple hug can fracture the bone of someone afflicted with osteoporosis. 75% of individuals who fracture a bone due to osteoporosis will suffer deformities and permanent disabilities which greatly decrease their quality of life. Osteoporosis affects one in four women and one in eight men over the age of 50.

As we age, we all lose bone mass. Whether or not you get osteoporosis later in life depends on how big and dense your bones become during your developing years, and how much bone mass you lose after that. If you start off with bigger and denser bones and if you lose less bone mass as you get older, you will have more left in later years.

How Calcium Helps Your Body

• Bones: Calcium is required to build, develop and maintain strong and healthy      bones.
• Heart: Calcium maintains normal heartbeat and regulates blood pressure. It may play a part in reducing your risk of high blood pressure.
• Blood: Calcium is important for normal blood clotting, which is essential for wound healing.
• Colon: Calcium may offer protection from colon cancer in some individuals.
• Nerves: Calcium is needed for proper functioning of the nervous system.
• Muscles: Calcium is required for muscle contraction and relaxation, which make movement possible.

Building Healthy Bones - A Program for Life

Starting off on the right foot...

Prevention is the best approach to osteoporosis and prevention is a lifetime process; however, it's never too late to start taking care of your bones. While your genetic make-up plays a major role in determining the size and density of your bones, your lifestyle is also important. Regular physical activity and a diet rich in calcium are the best preventive measures. Of course, there's no guarantee that an adequate calcium intake will absolutely prevent osteoporosis. If your calcium needs are not met, though, your risk of getting osteoporosis is definitely increased. Also, smoking and too much alcohol and caffeine have a negative impact on bone health, especially if your calcium intake is low.

Provided you consume enough calcium, your bones will continue to grow more dense until around the age of 30. After that, calcium remains a priority, because you need to maintain your bone mass to minimize the gradual loss associated with aging. Pregnant and breastfeeding mothers need even more calcium to meet both their needs and the baby's. In women, loss of bone mass is accelerated after menopause. Postmenopausal women should therefore pay even greater attention to their calcium intake.

All Calcium Sources are Not Created Equal

To benefit from the calcium in your diet, your body must be able to absorb and use it. In general, the calcium in fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes is not adequately absorbed by the body - it is not highly "bio-available". The reason is that most of these foods naturally contain substances like oxalate, phytate and fibre that bind calcium and interfere with its absorption. For example, almost all the calcium in spinach and rhubarb is bound to oxalate and cannot be used by the body.

In addition, most plant-based foods contain only small amounts of calcium. These foods are otherwise nutritious and can contribute to your overall calcium intake, but it's not a good idea to rely solely on them for your complete calcium needs.

The Osteoporosis Society of Canada recommends that you try to meet your calcium needs first through foods, especially milk products, which are the richest source of easy-to-absorb calcium.

What is important to remember is that calcium-containing foods also offer other nutrients. For example, milk products supply vitamin A, phosphorous and magnesium, which also contribute to bone health. Milk itself is our best dietary source of vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium better. If, for some reason, you can't meet your recommended daily calcium intake naturally with food, calcium supplements are a must.

Active Living: It's the Way to Go!

In combination with a calcium-rich diet, your bones need regular physical activity to maintain their strength. Exercise helps the body store calcium in the bones, so that the calcium you get from your diet is used more efficiently. Activities you do on your feet, like brisk walking, skating, dancing, hiking and low impact aerobics are ideal. Walk to the store instead of driving. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Every bit counts. Find activities that you enjoy and make active living a pleasurable part of your everyday life!

Calculate Your Calcium Intake

Click here to assess your calcium intake with the Calcium Calculator^TM*

Every Step Counts...

Calcium Content of Milk Products

Click here for a calcium content list of milk products and some combination foods made with milk products

You're On The Right Track...With Calcium-Rich Foods

Milk products are the most practical way to meet your calcium needs. In fact, although it can be done, it is a real challenge to meet your daily calcium needs without milk products. As you can see from the food tables, not many foods are as rich in easy-to-absorb calcium as milk products. Canned sardines and salmon are also great sources of readily-available calcium as long as you eat the bones. At home or dining out, at meal-time and for snacking, make calcium\rich milk products an important part of your day, every day...for life!

On Your Way...With the right number of servings

Eating the recommended servings of milk products as outlined in Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating is your best guarantee of getting the calcium you need every day, along with other important nutrients. How many milk products you should eat depend on where you are in the life cycle.

Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating Recommended daily servings of milk products

• Children 4 - 9 years 2 - 3 servings/day
• Youth 10 - 16 years 3 - 4 servings/day
• Adults 2 - 4 servings/day
• Pregnant and breast-feeding women 3 - 4 servings/day

What's a serving?

One serving of milk products, as defined in Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating, contains at least 275mg of calcium. Not all milk products contain the same amount of calcium. That's why a normal helping of some milk products might give you only 1/4, 1/3 or 1/2 serving as shown below.

 Note: If you think you have lactose intolerance, which means you have difficulty digesting the lactose or natural sugar in milk, confirm this with your doctor. This condition is not an allergy, and does not mean that you should give up milk products. Experiment to find out your own tolerance:

• try drinking smaller amounts of milk with food throughout the day, or drink lactose reduced milk (available at most grocery stores).
• try yogurt - the bacterial culture makes it easier to digest.
• try eating firm cheese like Cheddar and Mozzarella, since they contain almost no lactose.

Dairy Bureau of Canada (1994)

* Calcium Calculator™ courtesy of B.C. Dairy Foundation

¡ Return to Nutrition Home

¡ Return to Dairy Farmers of Manitoba Home