You form your eating habits early in life, and poor food choices can cause malnutrition in childhood or after repeatedly failing to meet your body's needs as you grow older. When a nutrient such as calcium is in short supply for a long time, your bone and teeth health can suffer. Your doctor can help you treat a calcium deficiency with supplements. If complications such as significant bone loss have occurred, you may need other medications. Preventing calcium undernutrition with dietary improvements, on the other hand, can keep you and your family healthy for life.
Childhood Calcium Needs
Children aged 9 to 18 should get 1,300 mg of calcium from foods each day. During the childhood growth period, especially from ages 9 to adult, children's bodies compose their peak bone mass, the primary compact bone that must carry them through life. Inadequate calcium may create deformities or soft, weak bones and may contribute to future bone density decline. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development reports that an increase in youth forearm fractures may be due to diets that substitute soda pop for calcium-rich milk as a beverage.
Role of Vitamin D
Humans can't absorb dietary calcium without vitamin D. Children who develop soft bones, called rickets, from malnutrition are generally deficient in vitamin D, which reduces their blood calcium levels. American adults and children are at risk for both vitamin D and calcium deficiency, and should strive to get 15 mcg of vitamin D per day.
Adult Calcium Malnutrition
Adults 19 to 50 should consume 1,000 mg of calcium and increase that amount to 1,200 mg at age 51. When adults have inadequate calcium and vitamin D intakes, they may lose bone mass. Your body uses calcium to build new bone tissue to replace dead cells, and when the dietary supply is short, calcium is acquired from bone mineral stores. When prolonged malnutrition causes significant bone loss that cannot be replaced, it is called osteoporosis, a condition that increases your risk for bone fractures.
Prevention
The U.S. Department of Agriculture advises getting your nutrients for bone health from foods rather than supplements for their additional nutritional benefits. Form a habit of drinking 2 to 3 cups of low-fat milk every day, and it will be easy to get the remainder of your calcium and vitamin D from other sources. Yogurt, cheese, almonds, cooked dry beans and sardines have calcium, while tuna, salmon and eggs provide vitamin D.
References
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010
- National Osteoporosis Foundation; Clinician's Guide to Prevention and Treatment of Osteoporosis; January 2010
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; Calcium Is Critical for Lifelong Bone Health
- National Osteoporosis Foundation: Vitamin D and Bone Health
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: National Nutrient Database
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