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Calcium: The Bone Builder
Calcium is a bone builder and a helper mineral: 99% of the calcium in your body builds and maintains bones and teeth. The other 1% helps you heart beat, helps your muscles contract and relax, helps clot your blood when necessary and helps your nerves send messages.
The need for calcium starts when you are an infant. Your greatest need for calcium comes during the pre-teens to the mid-twenties when bones become the strongest they will ever be. This is the time to build your bone bank for the adult years ahead. Beginning at age 30-35 the calcium balance in your bone bank will begin a slow, natural decrease. As an adult, it is important to replace calcium through your diet every day to keep your calcium balance as high as possible.
If your diet is too low in calcium, this vital mineral will be withdrawn from your bone bank for the other important functions that require calcium. Over time, if the calcium taken from your bones is not replaced, your bones may become porous, brittle and weak. That’s why it is so important to get
enough calcium in your diet each day.
How much calcium do you need? (in milligrams of calcium)
Infants Birth-6 months / 400 mg 6 months-1 year / 600 mg
Children 1-5 years / 800 mg 6-10 years / 800-1,200 mg
Adolescents/Young Adults 11-24 years / 1,200-1,500 mg
Men 25-65 years / 1,000 mg 65+ years / 1,500 mg
Women 25-50 years /1,000 mg Pregnant and nursing / 1,200 mg
50+ years /1,500 mg
(postmenopausal) 65+ years / 1,500 mg
On hormone replacement therapy
1,000 mg Not on hormone replacement therapy
1,500 mg
Source: National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference on Optimal Calcium Intake, 1994
Calcium is a bone builder and a helper mineral: 99% of the calcium in your body builds and maintains bones and teeth. The other 1% helps you heart beat, helps your muscles contract and relax, helps clot your blood when necessary and helps your nerves send messages.
The need for calcium starts when you are an infant. Your greatest need for calcium comes during the pre-teens to the mid-twenties when bones become the strongest they will ever be. This is the time to build your bone bank for the adult years ahead. Beginning at age 30-35 the calcium balance in your bone bank will begin a slow, natural decrease. As an adult, it is important to replace calcium through your diet every day to keep your calcium balance as high as possible.
If your diet is too low in calcium, this vital mineral will be withdrawn from your bone bank for the other important functions that require calcium. Over time, if the calcium taken from your bones is not replaced, your bones may become porous, brittle and weak. That’s why it is so important to get
enough calcium in your diet each day.
How much calcium do you need? (in milligrams of calcium)
Infants Birth-6 months / 400 mg 6 months-1 year / 600 mg
Children 1-5 years / 800 mg 6-10 years / 800-1,200 mg
Adolescents/Young Adults 11-24 years / 1,200-1,500 mg
Men 25-65 years / 1,000 mg 65+ years / 1,500 mg
Women 25-50 years /1,000 mg Pregnant and nursing / 1,200 mg
50+ years /1,500 mg
(postmenopausal) 65+ years / 1,500 mg
On hormone replacement therapy
1,000 mg Not on hormone replacement therapy
1,500 mg
Source: National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference on Optimal Calcium Intake, 1994