Calcium, which is the most abundant mineral in your body, performs several life-sustaining functions. Your body cannot make calcium, so to keep the concentration of calcium in your body high, you must meet your needs through your diet. Because you lose calcium every day through your skin, hair, nails, urine and sweat, the Food and Nutrition Board recommends that adults consume between 1,000 and 1,300 milligrams per day.
Bone Health
When you hear the word calcium, you may immediately think of your bones. Calcium combines with phosphorus, another mineral, to form a compound called hydroxyapatite. This compound provides structure to your bones and teeth, keeping them healthy and strong. Calcium is especially important during times of growth, such as your teenage years, when your body forms new bone rapidly. Because your body is constantly breaking down old bone and replacing it with new bone, however, it is important to keep your intake of calcium high throughout your lifetime.
Heart Rhythm
Proper heart beat relies on a series of muscle contractions that must occur in the proper succession. These muscle contractions are controlled by electrical impulses enabled by electrolytes, which are minerals that contain an electrical charge, either positive or negative.
Calcium, which carries a positive charge, is one of the primary electrolytes in your body. The positive charge of calcium helps to signal your heart muscles to contract and relax so that your heart beat remains normal. While the right amount of calcium is vital to keeping your heart beat normal, too much calcium can disrupt normal heart beat, causing irregularities called arrhythmias.
Nerve Impulses
The transmission of nerve impulses relies on electrical activity in the body that triggers the opening and closing of gates in your cell membranes. When the gates in your cell membranes open they allow certain ions, like potassium and sodium, to pass into and out of your cells. This passage of ions triggers an electrical impulse that sends a nerve signal.
Calcium helps to control the opening and closing of the gates that let potassium into and out of your cells. Without calcium, these potassium channels would not open and close properly, disrupting nerve signaling.
Blood Clotting
Blood clotting is the process by which your blood forms a plug to prevent abnormal and excessive bleeding. When a blood vessel is damaged, blood cell fragments called platelets come together, stick to the site of damage and stop the bleeding. The clumping of blood platelets relies on the presence of coagulation factors, which allows the platelets to stick together. Calcium is one of these coagulation factors.
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