Why Your Blood Needs Calcium (Know The Benefits)

Why Your Blood Needs Calcium (Find Out Here)

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Do you know why calcium is so important to your blood?

Our blood cells use calcium for many different functions. A mineral like calcium is important for building strong bones and preventing bone deterioration.

By eating the right type of food your body will get adequate amounts of calcium needed for specific functions.

In this blog post, we will explore the importance of calcium in the blood and what happens when it’s not enough.

If you’re interested in learning more be sure to read on, you might be surprised at what you find out!.

Calcium (Ca2+): What Does it Do in Your Blood?

Calcium is one of the most abundant minerals in the body.

About 99% of calcium is found in bones and teeth, and 1% is in the blood, muscles, and other soft tissues.

This 1% helps with nerve transmission, blood clotting, blood pressure and immune defenses.

Functions of calcium

Calcium performs lots of functions in the blood, tissues and bones.

It combines with phosphorus to form bones and teeth, making them hard and resistant to breaks and decay
Helps muscles to contract normally
Helps blood to clot normally when you get a cut or wound
Calcium is essential for nerve messages to be passed along the nervous system from the brain to other parts of the body and vice versa
Increasing calcium intake from dairy products, not supplements, may increase weight reduction
Helps regulate blood pressure

Low calcium intake results in high blood pressure. People with hypertension should make sure they consume about 1000 to 1500 mg per day.

African-Americans have a higher
rate of high blood pressure than other groups and tend to have low calcium intakes.

What foods provides calcium?

A good source of calcium contributes at least 100mg of calcium in a standard serving.

Calcium can be found in dairy products, sea creatures and veggies. Food sources of calcium include:

Milk
Yogurt
Cheese
Crabs
Lobsters
Tofu
Cottage cheese
Greens
Legumes

Symptoms of calcium deficiency:

Clot failure
Bone deteriorating
High blood pressure
Poor nerve transmission
Muscle cramps

Why Your Blood Needs Calcium (Know The Reasons)

An adequate dietary calcium intake not only prevents hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and blood pressure but also with bad cholesterol, osteoporosis and colorectal adenomas.

Reduces LDL cholesterol

Calcium supplementation and lipid metabolism reduces LDL cholesterol and increases HDL cholesterol by 95%.

Dietary calcium suppresses calcitrophic hormones that reduce intracellular calcium in adipocytes, this process stimulates lipogenesis and lipid storage.

Dietary calcium intake may also decrease serum cholesterol by inhibiting cholesterol and saturated fatty acid absorption.

Hypocalcemia

Hypocalcemia means low calcium levels in the blood. It occurs as a result of medical treatments, renal failure, hypo-parathyroidism, and taking medications such as diuretics.

An insufficient amount of calcium in your blood will generally not cause hypocalcemia. This is because
normal amounts of calcium in the blood are critical to many vital body functions of the nerves, muscles, brain and heart.

Blood coagulation

When blood vessels are damaged, the loss of blood must be stopped before shock and possible death occurs. This is accompanied by solidification of the blood; a process called coagulation.

The presence of calcium in the blood helps in activating clotting factors. Calcium ions are required for the acceleration of blood clotting pathways.

Increased PMS Symptoms

Women experiencing cramping and changes in menstrual flow is due to calcium deficiency. Adding more calcium to a diet may ease these symptoms.

Osteoporosis

One way to help reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis is to consume adequate amounts of calcium in your daily diet.

If you cannot consume enough calcium from your foods, supplements are a safe alternative.

Osteoporosis means porous bone, it is characterized by a decrease in bone mineral density, bone calcium content, and an increased risk of fractures.

Is calcium toxic to the blood?

High levels of calcium in the blood is known as hypercalcemia impair kidney function.

Hypercalcemia rarely results from dietary or supplemental calcium intake, and it is related to hyperparathyroidism.

What about calcium supplements?

Taking too much calcium supplements has it’s health risks, including:

Gastrointestinal effects

Calcium supplements have gastrointestinal side effects mainly constipation, excessive abdominal cramping, bloating, and severe diarrhea.

Cardiovascular effects

Deposition of calcium into arterial walls is an integral part of the atherosclerotic process.

There has been concern for some decades that calcium supplementation might increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

This concern has not been considered seriously by those involved in the therapeutic management of osteoporosis.

How much calcium do you need?

According to the U.K. department of health, the recommended reference nutrients intake for calcium required according to age.

Infants and children: 350–550mg/day
Teenage: 800–1000mg/day
Adults: 700mg/day

Other references for the adequate intakes of dietary calcium are:

Birth to 6 months: 210 mg
7–12months: 270mg
Children 1–3years: 500mg
Children 4–8years: 800mg
Children 9–13years: 1300mg
Teens 14–18years: 1300mg
Adults: 1000 – 1200mg

Takeaway

Consume appropriate amounts of calcium to stay healthy and reduce your risk for developing osteoporosis and kidney stones.

Use the table of dietary reference intakes for calcium to find out how much calcium you need to consume each day.

Try to consume calcium from foods or beverages. If you take calcium supplements, calcium citrate and calcium carbonate are the best choices.

Why Your Blood Needs Calcium (Know The Benefits)