Calcium is one of the key factors that determine bone health.
Calcium in bones grows slowly but irreversibly with age, sooner or later, and most people will have bone health problems of one kind or another, especially the middle-aged and the elderly.
Now, more and more people realize the importance of calcium supplement. However, nutritionist Wang Xingguo found that many people have misunderstanding. The four mentioned below are the most common.
Calcium supplement is to eat calcium tablets, wrong!
Taking calcium tablets is not the best way to supplement calcium. You should first consider supplementing calcium through food.
The preferred calcium supplement food is milk and dairy products, including milk, yogurt, milk powder, cheese, etc.
Milk and dairy products are rich in calcium and have high absorption rate. They also contain high-quality protein, B vitamins, vitamin A and other nutrients.
Drinking about 300 milliliters of milk every day can supplement about 300 milligrams of calcium-only talking about calcium content, not losing to calcium tablets.
In addition, soybean products such as tofu, dried tofu and dried tofu are also good sources of calcium and high-quality protein. However, it should be noted that soybean milk, tender tofu and preserved beancurd contain relatively little calcium.
Green leafy vegetables are also often neglected natural calcium agents. Rape, spinach and other dark green leaves of vegetables, calcium content is very high. It is recommended to eat enough one kilo of vegetables every day, of which green leafy vegetables are best to account for half.
The calcium intake recommended by the Chinese Nutrition Society is 800 milligrams per day for adults and 1,000 milligrams for those over 50 years old.
As long as you drink milk and eat enough soybean products and green leafy vegetables every day, you can meet this amount. Unfortunately, many people cannot eat the recommended amount of these foods, resulting in an average daily calcium intake of only over 400 milligrams for Chinese residents.
In other words, quite a number of people need to take about 400-600 milligrams of calcium tablets to supplement calcium. This is also why when we talk about [calcium supplement], the first thought is to eat calcium tablets.
Osteoporosis just take calcium tablets, wrong!
Bone health depends not only on sufficient calcium intake, but also on nutrients such as phosphorus, magnesium, vitamin D, vitamin K and protein.
Vitamin D can promote the absorption of calcium, otherwise it is useless to supplement more calcium and cannot absorb it. Skin can synthesize vitamin D under sunlight, so outdoor activities are very important.
Animal livers, egg yolks, marine fish, mushrooms, etc. are also rich in vitamin D, so you can eat more. If vitamin D is still insufficient, it is OK to choose vitamin D3 supplements and supplement 400 IU per day.
Lack of exercise or physical labor is also one of the important causes of osteoporosis. Just [food supplement] [medicine supplement], but always lazy to move, osteoporosis is no better.
If osteoporosis has already occurred, calcium supplement alone is usually not enough. Under the guidance of a doctor, it is necessary to improve diet and exercise, take special anti-osteoporosis drugs, and sometimes treat primary diseases related to osteoporosis.
Liquid calcium is better absorbed, wrong!
The absorption effect of calcium products on the market, whether calcium carbonate, calcium hydrogen phosphate, calcium lactate, etc., whether liquid or solid, is not too bad. In contrast, it is more critical to supplement enough.
One more point here: the amount mentioned earlier is aimed at calcium, but calcium tablets are not pure calcium. The amount of [calcium contained] is different from [calcium tablet weight], for example, one gram of calcium carbonate contains about 400 milligrams of calcium. Before taking calcium tablets, look clearly.
As for the time of calcium supplement, it is suggested to eat or after eating.
After dinner, review the diet of the day. If you don’t drink milk or eat enough soy products or green leafy vegetables, take a calcium tablet. If you have enough, you can not eat it.
In addition, it is better to absorb calcium in separate doses (300 mg twice a day) than in single doses (600 mg once a day). Because the larger the single calcium intake, the lower the absorption ratio.
Eating calcium tablets will lead to stones, wrong!
The formation of stones is mostly due to metabolic problems, not calcium tablets.
The main component of gallstones is cholesterol or bile pigment, most of which have nothing to do with calcium. Taking calcium tablets will not lead to gallstones.
There is also no evidence that kidney stones are related to taking calcium tablets. Healthy adults will not suffer from kidney stones due to taking calcium tablets. Moreover, drinking milk, eating calcium-rich foods such as bean products and so on will not increase the risk of kidney stones or recurrent kidney stones in healthy people.
To sum up, it is highly recommended that you drink more milk and eat more soybean products and green leafy vegetables. First consider getting enough calcium from food, and then take calcium tablets to supplement when you don’t eat enough.
At the same time, more exercise, proper sun exposure and rational use of vitamin D. These can increase the efficiency of calcium absorption and are also of great benefit to the prevention of osteoporosis.
Do you understand the issue of calcium supplement?