Is Calcium Supplement For Adults Necessary Or Not?


Calcium is considered as one of the essential micronutrients for daily life. From a young age, the need for calcium supplements has been focused. However, many argue that calcium supplements for adults are not as necessary as in children. So is calcium supplement for adults necessary or not? What is the most effective source of calcium supplements for adults? the most effective Let Solife answer the above questions through the following article.
1. Why need calcium supplements for adults?
One of the popular effects of calcium is to enhance the quality of the bone system, ensuring the comprehensive development of stature for young children. Therefore, the addition of calcium-rich foods from a very early age to children is always focused by parents. However, even for adults, the daily calcium requirement does not decrease.
In adulthood, calcium helps the body:
- Prevent bone diseases such as osteoporosis, limit chronic bone pain and mobility problems.
- Protect heart health. Many clinical studies show that calcium ions, after being absorbed, can penetrate into the heart muscle tissue layer, help regulate blood pumping and generate electrical signals to help control heart beat.
- Enhancing the protection of the nervous system: the elderly with calcium deficiency are prone to memory problems and reduced clarity.
Therefore, the need for calcium supplements for adults should be enhanced. Calcium supplements can be taken through the daily diet or can be used in combination with calcium supplements on the market.
Here’s information about adults’ calcium needs by age:
Men |
Daily calcium requirement | Daily upper limit |
19 – 50 years old | 1000 mg | 2500 mg |
51 – 70 years old | 1000 mg | 2000 mg |
From 71 years old | 1200 mg | 2000 mg |
Women | Daily calcium requirement | Daily upper limit |
19 – 50 years old | 1000 mg | 2500 mg |
From 51 years old | 1200 mg |
2000 mg |
In addition, in people with different health conditions, underlying diseases, pregnant and lactating women, the need for calcium supplements increases. Eg:
- Being vegetarian
- Intolerance to lactose and dairy foods.
- Consume large amounts of protein or salt as they cause the body to excrete more calcium.
- Having osteoporosis.
- Long-term use of corticosteroids.
- Having gastrointestinal diseases that reduce calcium absorption such as enteritis, colitis.
2. Ways to supplement calcium for adults
After learning about the important role and impact of calcium on our body, in this section, we invite you to review the ways to supplement calcium for adults.
2.1 Supplementing calcium through the diet
One of the most natural and easily found sources of calcium is from food. The amount of calcium in the diet that we absorb daily will be the main source of calcium in life. A few calcium-rich food groups include:
2.2 Supplementing calcium with functional foods
In addition to daily nutrition, functional foods are also a source of calcium supplements for adults that deserve attention. Due to understanding the increasing demand for calcium supplements for adults, the functional food market now has many product lines to help the body absorb calcium more and more effectively.
Popular calcium supplement product lines on the market include:
- Calcium carbonate (40% elemental calcium)
- Calcium citrate (21% elemental calcium)
- Calcium gluconate (9% elemental calcium)
- Calcium lactate (13% elemental calcium)
In addition, in the process of using calcium-containing functional foods, users should focus on other vitamins and minerals that can enhance the absorption and metabolism of calcium for the body. For example, zinc, vitamin D3, magnesium and vitamin K. It is necessary to know the information about the ingredients in functional foods in the process of calcium supplementation for adults so that you can choose a suitable product for yourself. price and functionality.
Read more: TOP 3 Best Calcium Supplements For Middle-aged People
3. Things to keep in mind when supplementing with calcium for adults
To ensure calcium needs for adults, the fortification of calcium-rich foods and calcium supplements is always a top priority. However, it is important to note a few information below so that the performance of calcium supplements is always optimal and does not leave sequelae that adversely affect health.
- Dosage: In adults, the average daily need to consume 1000mg of calcium and a maximum of 2000mg. It is necessary to carefully read the ingredients of functional foods, to avoid overdosing or underdosing.
- Time of use: many studies have shown that calcium supplements in the morning, about 7 to 8 hours are best. This is the time when the body is in need of natural calcium absorption from breakfast. At the same time, choosing this time will limit the possibility of urinary calcium accumulation causing kidney stones. It is best to take calcium supplements 1 hour after the last meal. Limit calcium supplements for adults at night.
- Protein-rich foods: These foods will inadvertently increase calcium excretion. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the reasonable diet to have the best absorption of calcium.
- Drug interactions: calcium supplements may cross-interact with other common drugs such as blood pressure medications, antibiotics, hormone regulators, etc. Need to consult a doctor or nutritionist to limit the side effects of the drugs.
- Combining physical activity and sunbathing will help the body to better absorb vitamin D. This helps to improve calcium metabolism.
Conclusion
Calcium supplementation, especially calcium supplementation for adults, always brings long-term benefits to the musculoskeletal system and ensures comprehensive development both physically and mentally. Solife hopes that through the above article, readers have been able to choose the right nutrition and calcium supplement products to suit their needs.
Reference:
https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2019.00065
https://www.vinmec.com/vi/co-the-nguoi/canxi-43/