Calcium Vital For Women

Calcium is essential for women and must be included in daily supplementation. Calcium helps in providing protection against cancer, osteoporosis; treatment of PMS fluid retention and hormonal imbalance.

The role of calcium in treatment of fluid retention has come in limelight recently. The mineral helps in weight loss of the PMS patients.

Dosage

Calcium is often supplemented in combination with Vitamin D. The amount of calcium to be taken depends primarily on the age group. For example, women between the age group of 25 to 50 must consume 1000 mg of calcium every day. During pregnancy the intake increases accordingly.

Requirement ranges from 1200 to 1500 mg depending on the health of the women. The requirement rises with increase in age. The absorbing capacity decreases with age. During menopause women need additional daily calcium.

The supplementation should be from salts which can be easily broken down by the body. These include calcium lactate, calcium citrate, and calcium gluconate and tricalcium phosphate.

A calcium intake that exceeds 4 grams or more daily reflects over-dosage. Although body has a natural mechanism of dealing with excess consumption of calcium yet the total daily intake must be taken as per need only. Most preferably, take supplementation as per prescription from a health care provider.

Excess consumption may cause deposition of calcium on the bones. Another serious disadvantage is interference with functioning of kidneys and formation of kidney stones.

Hence, women must consult their doctor before starting calcium supplementation.

Natural Sources

Daily products are a good source of calcium. Whole milk contains almost 315 mg of calcium per cup. Yogurt is a better source of calcium than milk, almost 300 mg per quarter of the cup. Excess consumption of daily products may not be suitable for hyper acidity patients.

Other sources are soya milk, mustard greens, sardines, tofu, whey, watercress, clams, oysters and broccoli.

There are several herbs that are good sources of calcium. These include chicory, burdock root, alfalfa, chamomile, horsetail, kelp, dandelion, fennel seed, fenugreek and cayenne.

There are certain foods that interfere with absorbance of calcium in the body. These are unpolished rice, spinach, cocoa, and kale. Unless you have serious calcium deficiency you need not to worry about these foods.