5 Things Calcium Does For The Body

Calcium is an important mineral necessary for optimal health. Your body uses calcium for a variety of processes in addition to supporting your musculoskeletal system. Calcium is found in dairy products as well as fish, vegetables and grains and is added to variety of fruit juices. Adults over 19 years of age need 1,000 mg per day, but women over 50 should take 1,200 mg per day, according to the Office of Dietary Supplements.

Building of Bones and Teeth

Calcium builds and maintains strong bones and teeth. The majority of the calcium stored in your body is in your teeth and bones. Strong bones help prevent fractures or breaks. If you do not get enough calcium, you increase your risk of developing osteoporosis, a condition in which bones become brittle. Children need plenty of calcium to build bone density. Ninety percent of bone density is built by age 18 in girls and by age 20 in boys, according to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.

Body Weight Regulation

Calcium plays a role in adolescent body weight regulation. According to a two-year study published in the December 2005 issue of "Archivos Latinoamericanos de Nutricion," 121 adolescents with an average age of 15 years were evaluated on their calcium intakes and body weight. The study showed an inverse relationship between calcium intake and body weight. Adolescents with a lower dietary intake of calcium had a higher body mass index.

Airway Function

Calcium is an integral part of the cells in your body. Calcium secretion by cells is a chemical reaction involved in airway function. Calcium plays a beneficial role in helping to keep your airways open, even in exercise-induced asthma, according to a study published in 1983 in "European Journal of Respiratory Diseases." The smooth muscle of your airway passage opening depends on calcium regulation for contraction.

Muscle Contraction

The milk in your morning cereal may help you get a better workout. Muscle fibers use calcium as a regulating and signaling molecule. Calcium secreted by your cells causes the regulatory proteins to react with myosin, creating "on" and "off" stages of muscle contraction. This causes a tightening or a relaxing of the muscle fibers.

Blood Clotting

Calcium in milk is an important factor in blood clotting. Every time you get a cut or wound, your blood reacts to protect itself against excessive blood loss by clotting. Blood platelets combined with calcium, vitamin K and fibrinogen, a protein, move to the area around the wound to stop the bleeding by forming a blood clot. In order for your blood to clot, vitamin K and calcium need to be present. When your blood is lacking calcium, it takes longer for you to stop bleeding. If you are totally deficient in calcium, you run the risk of bleeding to death, according to the Franklin Institute.