Doctors describe an adult woman's life in three different stages: the reproductive years, menopause and postmenopause. The period of menopause occurs as the number of mature eggs declines to zero and hormone levels drop drastically. The decrease in the amount of estrogen inhibits the production of new bone, which leads to a condition known as osteoporosis. Because the body needs calcium to make bone tissue, taking calcium supplements can help slow the rate of bone loss.
Bone Remodeling
In order to understand the important role calcium plays for women in menopause, you must understand bone remodeling. Bone remodeling describes the process in which old bone tissue breaks down and new bone tissue forms. Specialized cells, known as osteoclasts, break down old bone, while osteoblasts deposit minerals to form new bone. Normally these two processes occur in balance, keeping the bone density even. As we age, the body cannot produce enough bone to replace the old bone. A lack of estrogen, such as occurs during menopause, enhances the ability of the osteoclasts to break down bone, speeding up that process even more. Taking calcium supplements ensures that osteoblasts have the minerals they need to make the new bone.
Types
Two main types of calcium supplements exist: calcium carbonate and calcium citrate. The body absorbs both supplements equally well, but each contains a different amount of elemental calcium, meaning the amount available to the body. Calcium carbonate, the most common and affordable supplement, contains 40 percent elemental calcium, while calcium citrate contains only 21 percent. You should take calcium carbonate supplements with food for maximum absorption, but calcium citrate can be taken either with or without food.
Daily Intake
The National Institute of Medicine Food and Nutrition Board recommends that adult women in their reproductive years intake at least 1,000 mg of calcium per day. As women hit menopause and the postmenopause years, they should increase their intake of calcium to 1,200 mg per day.
Additional Supplements
In addition to taking calcium supplements for menopause, women should also increase their intake of vitamin D. Vitamin D, available in some fortified foods, as a supplement and produced in the skin when triggered by ultraviolet rays from the sun, enhances the absorption of calcium. Without vitamin D, taking more calcium does not really matter because the body cannot absorb it. The dietary requirements for vitamin D increase from 5 micrograms per day for adult women prior to menopause to 10 micrograms per day for women in menopause.
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