The often overlooked benefits of calcium

In order to ensure that both you and your family stay healthy and happy, it’s important to keep an eye on your intake of calcium and other essential elements. There are a number of reasons why making sure you are getting enough calcium through your diet is so important. The good news is that calcium can be easily added to your diet by consuming dairy products such as milk or yoghurt, eating green, leafy vegetables or even by simply taking calcium supplements.

Below is a list of 10 often overlooked benefits of calcium.

  1. Bone Growth and Skeletal Development

Calcium is essential for bone growth and also aids with prolonged bone development. Calcium deficiency can lead to osteoporosis in children and young adults. You can easily avoid the risk of such conditions with an ample intake of calcium.

  1. Reducing the risk of kidney stones

Contrary to popular belief, having the right amount of calcium in your diet can actually reduce the risk of getting kidney stones. Calcium naturally combines with the less-favorable substances that can be left over from digestion. This allows the substances to be easily passed through the system and excreted, as opposed to developing into something less manageable

However, for those that go down the route of supplementing calcium for kidney stone assistance, Vitamins K2 and D3 are both integral to this process. Vitamins work in conjunction with each other, and it’s rare to get all the benefits of one without assistance from another.

  1. Prevent and reduce the effects of PMS

Not including enough calcium in your diet can affect your progesterone and estrogen levels. These hormones have a direct effect on how your body copes with the menstrual cycle and can, therefore, trigger PMS in women. If you currently suffer from PMS, adding more calcium to your diet could be very beneficial.

  1. Regulating your blood pressure

Although the majority of calcium in your body is present in your bones, there is a small amount present in your blood. The calcium which is present in your blood aids with regulating blood pressure.

  1. Fetal development in expectant mothers

As many of us already know, calcium is an essential element in the body as it is the basis of our skeletal system. Calcium is very important when it comes to ensuring the growth and development of a growing baby. This is why expectant mothers are often told by their doctors to increase their calcium intake during pregnancy.

However, pregnancy is different for every woman. Consult your physician before starting anything new whilst pregnant.

  1. Prevention of cardiovascular diseases

Not taking in enough calcium can have negative effects on your nervous system, which in turn can cause a knock-on effect to vital organs such as the heart. Hence why it is very important to include sufficient amounts of calcium into your diet, as this can keep your vital organs healthy and therefore reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

  1. Keep your smile looking it’s best

Calcium intake plays a vital role in keeping your jaw and teeth healthy.

Including a sufficient amount of calcium in your diet will not only aid in the development of the teeth in small children and young adults, but will also maintain strong healthy teeth in older people. Recent studies show that people who include the right amount of calcium in their diets are more likely to have stronger, healthier teeth even in old age.

  1. Aid in weight loss

Calcium can help to speed up your metabolism, making your body process food quicker. Speeding up your metabolism is great for weight loss as it helps your body to burn fat cells and process the food that you are eating.

Not receiving enough calcium can have devastating effects on your body such as increased risk of bone breakage, brittle teeth and nails and poor general health. Hopefully, the health benefits that are listed above will explain why ensuring you obtain enough calcium is of utmost importance.

Disclaimer: Remember that everyone’s body is different and that a doctor should be consulted before making important health decisions.


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