Calcium makes up approximately two percent of all substances found in the skeleton, fluids, and tissues of the human body. Calcium ions perform the most important vital functions, participating in blood coagulation and regulation of various intracellular processes.

Daily rate

Children from four to eight years old and adults from nineteen to fifty need approximately the same amount of calcium – about 1000 mg – as much is contained, for example, in one hundred grams of Russian cheese or in a kilogram of dried dates. But young people of nine – eighteen years of calcium need a little more: about 1300 mg. This is one hundred grams of parmesan, a kilogram of apricots or dried apricots.

The increased need for calcium is, of course, due to the intensity of growth of the skeleton of a teenager. More calcium is also needed for those who are characterized by high physical activity: first of all, athletes. The fact is that during classes, the heartbeat quickens, and biochemical processes are also significantly accelerated, which means that more calcium is required.

Sources and conditions of assimilation

The largest proportion of calcium in the children’s diet (about 80%) is absorbed from dairy products. At a very early age, the main source is breast milk, then cow or goat milk, cottage cheese, hard cheese. Parents need to know that there is practically no calcium in fatty dairy products (butter, sour cream, cream), and the fatter the product, the less the amount of the desired element.

Adults are also recommended to get calcium from cereals (barley, oatmeal) and legumes (beans, soybeans, peas), nuts and seeds (poppy seeds, sesame seeds, almonds), greens (nettles, basil, parsley), fruits and berries (oranges, dried fruits), calcium-rich fish (herring, mackerel), vegetables (olives, garlic, cabbage), white chocolate, eggs, mushrooms.

The best absorption of calcium provides a high-protein diet, and animal fats, as already mentioned, prevent its absorption. Calcium is also not absorbed in the absence of vitamin D, phosphorus, and magnesium in the body. Iron also contributes to the high-quality absorption of calcium.

Hypo- and hypercalcemia

A lack of calcium at an early age can contribute to the development of rickets, severe growth retardation, impaired tooth and bone formation, increased excitability, seizures, and muscle spasms. In adults, hypocalcemia manifests itself in increased irritability, even hallucinations and memory loss. With such a diagnosis, nails, hair, teeth, and skin are seriously affected.

Excess calcium is less common. It is dangerous because it can block the ability of the kidneys to remove unnecessary elements, and this is fraught at best with loss of appetite and, again, irritability, at worst with chronic arthritis, muscle weakness, bone deformity and other equally unpleasant consequences.

Significance for athletes

It is no secret that with regular sports training, the musculoskeletal system requires special support. If the body does not have enough calcium at this time, convulsions, spasms, and malfunctions in the functioning of the heart muscle may occur. The troubles associated with a lack or excess of calcium in the body of an athlete can be avoided by carefully balancing the individual nutrition system. In addition, there are, of course, special preparations designed to normalize the calcium content in the body.