Calcium is crucial to a number of biological processes, including maintaining bones and teeth, regulating the heart beat and blood pressure and helping nerves and muscles function properly. Adequate calcium intake helps prevent health problems including osteoporosis and rickets, hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity and hypoparathyroidism. Malfunctioning parathyroid glands are the most likely cause of calcium deficiency, notes the Linus Pauling Institute, though people who don't or can't eat dairy products are also at higher risk. A number of relatively easy ways are available to treat low calcium, but all efforts should be supervised by your doctor.
Step 1
Eat more dairy products. Add cheese to eggs, sandwiches, salads, crackers, pasta, vegetables and other foods. Drink a daily glass of skim milk. Snack on low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese.
Step 2
Drink a glass of calcium-fortified orange juice every day. Just 6 oz. provides 378 mg of calcium, reports the Office of Dietary Supplements.
Step 3
Add tofu, legumes and leafy dark green vegetables to your diet, because they are leading vegetable sources of calcium. Incorporate brewer's yeast, blackstrap molasses and nuts into your diet as well for other plant sources of calcium.
Step 4
Prepare seafood entrees for dinner. Along with legumes, seafood is a source of high-quality protein for entrees that also provides calcium. Fish and shellfish provide the mineral.
Step 5
Take a calcium supplement if your doctor advises it. Among the more popular types of calcium supplements, calcium carbonate supplements contain the most elemental calcium, followed by calcium citrate, calcium phosphate and calcium gluconate.
Step 6
Introduce calcium supplements gradually, taking only 500 mg per day for a week, then adding another 500 mg per day the next week and adding a third dose in week three. This minimizes the risk of supplement-related digestive discomfort and side effects.
Step 7
Increase your fiber consumption by adding whole grains, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds to your diet to help prevent constipation and digestive problems associated with calcium supplementation. Drink at least 6 glasses of water every day, too.
Step 8
Have a snack or meal with your calcium supplement. Calcium carbonate and other types are better absorbed when taken with food. Calcium citrate is an exception, notes the New York State Health Department.
Step 9
Avoid caffeine and high amounts of protein or vitamin A in the two hours before and after taking a calcium supplement, because they can interfere with absorption.
Step 10
Get enough vitamin D, because it boosts calcium absorption. Expose yourself to sunlight for at least 15 minutes a day and eat foods fortified with vitamin D, as well as fatty fish such as salmon, tuna and mackerel.
Tips and Warnings
- If you're between the ages of 19 and 50, 1,000 mg is your daily recommended calcium intake. If you're older, the number rises to 1,200 mg per day. It is recommended that children between 9 and 18 get 1,300 mg a day.
- Don't exceed 2,500 mg of calcium per day. Calcium supplements can interact with other supplements and medications. Make sure your doctor knows everything you take. Don't eat or supplement with more than 500 mg of calcium at the same time. Your body cannot absorb any more, explains the University of Maryland Medical Center. Don't take a calcium supplement and an iron supplement within a few hours of each other, as calcium interferes with iron absorption.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Calcium
- Linus Pauling Institute: Calcium
- Office of Dietary Supplements: Calcium
- National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases: Calcium Supplements: What to Look For
- Harvard Health Publications: What You Need to Know About Calcium
- New York State Department of Health: Commonly Asked Questions About Calcium Supplements
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