Calcium: An Important Mineral For Women

Calcium is essential to the development and maintenance of healthy bones and teeth. Young women (adolescents and young adults) need to make sure they get enough calcium, as they can achieve their peak bone mass just after this age. Adequate amounts of calcium will help her bones reach optimum bone density. This can help protect her from osteoporosis later in life. Mature women need calcium to prevent break down of bone. There is also a growing body of research that suggests that calcium may prevent PMS.

How Much Does A Woman Need?
The amount of calcium that a woman should get per day ranges from 1000mg-1500mg, depending her age group, and hormonal state.

a) Ages 11-24 (adolescents and young adults): 1200-1500 mg
b) Ages 25-50: 1000 mg
c) Pregnant and nursing: 1200-1500 mg
d) Older than 50 (postmenopausal):
-- on estrogens: 1000 mg
-- not on estrogens: 1500 mg
e) Older than 65: 1500 mg

Sources of Calcium

Dairy foods are very high in calcium, especially milk, yogurt and cheese. Other good sources include calcium-enriched orange juice, rice beverages, and soy beverages. For more information, see Food Sources of Calcium at BC HealthGuide

Calcium a "Miracle" Mineral

Calcium and Weight Loss:
When Dr. Robert Heaney, a calcium expert at Creighton University in Omaha, recently examined the health records of 575 women, he was astonished at the results. "We were looking at mid-life weight gain and found that women with the highest calcium intakes didn't gain weight and those with the lowest did," Dr. Heaney said.

Similarly, at the University of Tennessee, Michael Zemel, Ph.D., reported that because calcium plays a key role in metabolic disorders linked to obesity and insulin resistance, a diet low in calcium literally stockpiles fat cells while higher calcium diets depletes them. Dr. Zemel discovered that a high calcium diet released a hormone which sends signals that are read by the body's fat cells to lose weight.

Calcium and Premenstrual Syndrome:
Susan Thys-Jacobs, an endocrinologist at St. Luke-Roosevelt Hospital's, has found that calcium supplementation can relieve the physical and emotional toll of PMS by almost 50%. At least half of the 497 women she studied who took 1,200 mg. of calcium supplements experienced fewer mood swings, depression/sadness, anxiety/nervousness; breast tenderness, bloating and other aches and pains. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Human Nutrition Research Center in Grand Forks, N.D. reported similar results after studying 10 women with PMS who spent half the study period on a daily diet containing 600 mg. of calcium, the other half upped to1300 mg. Women on the high calcium diet were less irritable, weepy, and depressed and averted backaches, cramping, and bloating.

Read more at Discovery.com