What is Calcium?
Calcium is a mineral, which is essential for bone growth, keeping bones strong and resilient. It also keeps your nerves and heart working efficiently. If you do not have sufficient calcium intake in your diet your body will feed upon the calcium from your bones, which in turn will make your bones weak and may lead to osteoporosis in later life.
Your bones will start losing calcium when you are in your mid-thirties, but if you keep up your calcium intake you will retain calcium in your bones longer. If your body is lacking in calcium, you should increase your calcium intake as soon as possible, as it is never too late to start rebuilding your bones.
Calcium and pregnancy
A developing baby will take on average 156 mg of calcium a day. If you are pregnant or breast-feeding you should be taking at least 1,200 mg of calcium a day.
Calcium and premenstrual syndrome
Ongoing research has found that lack of calcium in a female's diet may lead to increased symptoms of premenstrual syndrome.
Where can I find calcium?
Calcium can be found milk and dairy products such as cheese and yoghurt. It can also be found in canned fish, almonds, sesame seed kernels, salmon, tuna, soya beans, oranges, broccoli and most vegetables.
Calcium needs to be absorbed into the bones and Vitamin D enables calcium to do this. The main source of Vitamin D is the sun (although over-exposure to sunlight is not recommended). However, considering the typical climate in Ireland , it may be wise to gain Vitamin D from sources such as fish liver oils and margarine.
