the calcium is an essential nutrient for humans and the lack of it can lead to serious medical consequences.
The extremely high or low levels of calcium in the bloodstream can cause serious health problems, but these situations do not happen often. The reason for this is that the human body tightly regulates blood levels of this mineral so that the excessive or inadequate intake of calcium does not alter the amount generally in the soul.
However, several groups of people are at risk for calcium deficiency. The low dietary intake of calcium will have a person at risk for fractures, osteoporosis and rickets. Postmenopausal women are at risk for calcium deficiency because their blood levels of estrogen decrease and this affects the absorption and reabsorption of calcium.
You can increase the level of calcium in postmenopausal women with hormone replacement therapy, but some doctors prefer that for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis to take the bisphosphonates and hormone replacement therapy carries certain health risks.
Amenorrhea
Amenorrheic women, or women of childbearing age who do not have menstrual periods, are at risk for calcium deficiency. These women either do not begin to have periods where they should, or stop them after the menses have already begun. There are many possible causes of amenorrhea, but if they occur in a woman with anorexia nervosa, there is a tendency for her to lose unusually large amounts of calcium excreted in urine.
Amenorrhea may also occur in athletic women and women who serve on active military duty. May be density, fractures and osteoporosis, low bone prone and there may be disordered patterns of food as well.
Lactose intolerance
Lactose intolerance have obviously a patient at risk for calcium deficiency because these individuals can not consume much milk. A quarter of American adults have the term including Asians, African-Americans and Caucasians. These patients do not have the enzyme needed to digest lactose which is a combination of glucose and galactose.
Customers who are lactose intolerant can avoid the lack of calcium through the consumption of dairy products of low-lactose, aged cheeses, yogurt, or lactose-free milk. They should also be able to drink the minimum amount of milk that contains the usual amounts of lactose until they exceed the tolerance level for them. These customers face bloating, gas and diarrhea when consuming too much lactose.
Other good sources of calcium for lactose intolerant individuals include kale, cabbage, bok choy and Chinese, the broccoli, kohlrabi and fortified foods. They also have the option of taking a calcium supplement. These food sources are also an option for patients who have cow's milk allergy, a medical condition less common than lactose intolerance, and that also will have a person at risk for calcium deficiency.
Vegetarians can be at risk for calcium deficiency and this will depend largely on whether you consume dairy products. The strict vegetarians do not eat eggs or dairy products and will have the greatest risk of calcium deficiency among all categories of vegetarians. The Ovo-vegetarians, who eat eggs but not dairy products, will be at risk as well.
However, intake of calcium lacto-ovo vegetarians probably will approximate to that of nonvegetarians because both eat eggs and dairy products and this should not pose a risk for calcium deficiency. For vegetarians, one must keep in mind that their intake of phytic acid and oxalic acid can impair the absorption of calcium via the gastrointestinal tract.
References
American Cancer Society. (2010). Football. February 15, 2011 called.
National Institutes of Health. Office of dietary supplements. (2011). Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Calcium. February 12, 2011 called.
