How to determine whether you are calcium deficient? Know these points, calcium supplements are not wasted

Expert of this article: Li Xue, Peking Union Medical College, Doctor of Medicine

Speaking of calcium tablets, everyone is familiar with them, and taking calcium tablets has become a daily routine for some people.

Of course, the first condition for taking calcium tablets is that you are calcium deficient. However, in life, some people do not know whether they are calcium deficient or not, and just follow the trend and take calcium tablets for peace of mind.

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Here I would like to remind everyone that calcium tablets cannot be taken casually. If you take them incorrectly, not only will the effect not be adequate, but it may also cause other negative effects on the body.

How to determine if you are calcium deficient? When is the best time to take calcium tablets? Can you take them for a long time? After reading this, you will not take them casually anymore!

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What are calcium tablets used for?

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Calcium is an indispensable nutrient for the human body and plays a vital role in the development of human bones. In addition, calcium also plays an important role in blood coagulation. Only when the calcium (ion) content in serum is maintained at a normal level can the heart and blood vessels be kept healthy.

People need to supplement the daily fixed loss of calcium through supplies from the external environment. The best way to supplement calcium is food, such as dairy products such as milk and yogurt; seafood such as fish and shrimp; green leafy vegetables, beans, whole grains, etc.

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If dietary supplements cannot reach the recommended intake, you can choose to take supplements - calcium tablets. There are many types of calcium tablets on the market, and the classification methods are different. In terms of the composition of calcium sources, they can generally be divided into three categories: inorganic calcium, organic calcium, and organic acid calcium.

Inorganic calcium mainly includes calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate, with calcium carbonate being the most common. This type of calcium tablet needs to be decomposed into calcium ions with the help of gastric acid before it can be absorbed by the body. The advantages are high calcium content and low price. The disadvantages are that although the calcium content is high, the absorption rate is low and it is easy to deposit. Taking too much may cause kidney stones.

Representative organic calcium acids include calcium citrate, calcium lactate, calcium gluconate, etc., with calcium citrate being the most common. Although the calcium content of this type of calcium tablet is lower than that of inorganic calcium, it has the advantages of high absorption rate and no requirement for taking time, so it can be taken anytime and anywhere. This type of calcium tablet has less gastrointestinal irritation and is suitable for the elderly, children, people with malabsorption, and people with gastric acid deficiency.

Organic calcium, such as amino acid chelated calcium, has the advantage of being well absorbed.

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Can everyone take calcium tablets?

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Not everyone can take calcium supplements. If you have too much calcium in your blood (hypercalcemia), or hypercalciuria, or a history of kidney stones, you should avoid taking calcium tablets.

Some drugs can affect calcium absorption, such as tetracycline, isoniazid, proton pump inhibitors, etc., so they should not be taken at the same time. In addition, some studies have reported that calcium content is correlated with an increased risk of heart disease and prostate cancer. Such patients should be cautious when taking calcium tablets and communicate with their doctors in a timely manner.

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How to determine if you are calcium deficient?

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The most direct and accurate method is to go to the hospital for blood calcium measurement. However, it should be noted that due to physiological reasons, the elderly have "calcium migration", which increases blood calcium, resulting in the measurement results not being able to truly reflect the calcium content in the body, so bone density measurement is also required. In addition, we can also conduct preliminary self-diagnosis through some symptoms that occur in daily life.

Infants and young children: have difficulty falling asleep or entering a deep sleep; cry a lot after falling asleep, wake up easily, etc. Feel irritable and restless during the day. Teeth are sparse, irregular, and loose, and the teeth are black-pointed or jagged.

Adolescents: experience growing pains, cramps, fatigue, irritability, easy tiredness, poor tooth development, etc.

Adults: Adults usually have heavy workloads and high life pressures, so they tend to ignore some physical discomfort. In addition, calcium deficiency in adults usually has no typical symptoms, so it is even more difficult to detect. Adults, especially middle-aged women, should be alert to calcium deficiency when they often experience symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, cramps, back pain, allergies, colds, and loose teeth.

Elderly people: Elderly people are mostly suffering from calcium deficiency due to calcium loss. Common symptoms include heel pain, back pain, leg pain, cervical pain; loose and falling teeth; obvious hunchback and easy fracture; loss of appetite, gastrointestinal ulcers, constipation; frequent dreams, insomnia, irritability, and anger.

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Is it best to take calcium tablets at night?

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Calcium supplementation at night is more effective because part of the blood calcium will be lost in the urine during sleep. In order to maintain normal blood calcium concentration, calcium supplementation at night can provide a calcium source for nighttime calcium regulation and prevent calcium loss in the body. It can be taken after chewing, which is conducive to calcium absorption.

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Can calcium supplements be taken for a long time?

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For people who need long-term calcium supplementation, intermittent calcium supplementation can be used, such as taking calcium supplements for 2 months, stopping for 1 month, and then repeating. In addition, there are some other precautions:

Too much is not good: long-term excessive intake can increase the risk of kidney stones. Early symptoms of hypercalcemia include severe constipation, progressive dry mouth, persistent headache, loss of appetite, etc.

The dietary nutrient reference intake for Chinese residents (2018 edition, WS/T 578.2-2018) recommends the dietary nutrient calcium intake as follows:

Infants aged 0 to 6 months should take 200 mg of calcium per day, infants aged 7 to 12 months should take 250 mg of calcium per day, children aged 1 to 3 years should take 600 mg of calcium per day, children aged 4 to 6 years should take 800 mg of calcium per day, children aged 7 to 10 years should take 1000 mg of calcium per day, adolescents aged 10 to 13 years should take 1200 mg of calcium per day, adolescents aged 14 to 17 years should take 1000 mg of calcium per day, and adults aged 18 to 49 years should take 800 mg of calcium per day. People over 50 years old should take 1000 mg of calcium per day.

Small amounts and multiple times: Do not take more than 500 mg of calcium tablets at a time. If you exceed this amount, it is best to take it in divided doses, which will help with better absorption and reduce constipation, bloating and other conditions.

When calcium is not absorbed well, you can supplement vitamin D at the same time to promote calcium absorption.

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