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• CALCIUM
• STRENGTHEN YOUR BONES
• YOUR BONES ARE FOREVER

CALCIUM

Calcium is a mineral that is essential to the structure of the bones and teeth and the correct functioning of the nervous and muscular systems. Knowing the amount we need each day, in which foods to find it and how to prevent certain diseases, helps us to look after our health.

What is calcium?

Calcium is a mineral that is found in abundance in nature and which also forms part of our body. It plays an essential role in the formation of our bones. Some 99% of the existing calcium in our body is found within the bones. The remaining 1% is in the blood, extracellular liquid and adipose tissue.

Calcium is necessary for the transmission of nervous impulses, for muscular contraction, for coagulation of the blood and for the correct functioning of the heart.

If the sufficient amount is not ingested, the organism is obliged to extract it from the bones to ensure this 1%.

In the metabolism and composition of the bones and teeth, calcium is strongly linked with phosphorous (80% of the phosphorous in the organism forms part of the bones) and with magnesium.

How do we obtain it?

The organism obtains the 1% of circulating calcium through two mechanisms:

   - Diet: Through the intestinal absorption of calcium ingested in the diet, above all from enriched milks or calcium-rich derivates.
   - Bones: Through mobilisation of the calcium in the bones.

The intestinal absorption of ingested calcium is favoured by vitamin D. The bones of the human skeleton constitute an easily mobilised calcium deposit. Therefore, there is a continual process of destruction and reconstruction of the bones.

If calcium is not assimilated in the diet, a series of hormonal mechanisms are set in motion for the purpose of extracting calcium from the bones. If this calcium is not then replaced with new ingestions of this mineral, the bones weaken, leading to what is known as osteoporosis.

The kidney also plays a part in the maintenance of calcium levels in the blood.

Factors which regulate it

- PTH. PTH is produced in the parathyroid glands and is important in maintaining the level of calcium in the blood. It increases the departure of calcium from the bones, the tubular renal reabsorption of calcium and intestinal reabsorption of calcium. All this makes the level of calcium in the blood increase. This is why its secretion increases when calcium in the blood diminishes.

- Vitamin D. Vitamin D is obtained from the diet (oily fish, variety meats, above all brain, codliver oil, butter and egg yolk, enriched milks and enriched cereals) and it is also produced on the skin by the action of the sun on its precursor (7-dehydrocholesterol). Young people also have large deposits of this precursor in the skin but it diminishes with age, which is why it is necessary to increase Vitamin D in the diet of the elderly. Therefore, populations in countries that receive little sunshine have a reduced capacity to synthesize Vitamin D, which is why it is necessary to increase Vitamin D in the diet. Vitamin D stimulates the intestinal absorption of calcium and favours bone reconstruction.

- Calcitonin. Calcitonin is a hormone produced and secreted by special thyroid cells. The secretion is stimulated by increased calcium in the blood. Its effect diminishes these calcium levels. In order to do so, it favours the reduction of calcium departing from the bones and reduces the loss of calcium from the kidney.

Nutritional needs

Calcium requirements vary throughout one’s life. In general, the following intake of calcium is recommended:

How is it best absorbed?

Full fat milk, chocolate milk, yoghurt and cheese all have a similar absorption. But it is necessary to guarantee sufficient consumption to reach the recommended levels of calcium.

Calcium is absorbed at the beginning of the small intestine (duodenum and start of the jejunum). Only around 30% of the calcium we ingest is absorbed, the rest is eliminated via the faeces, urine and perspiration.

Lactose (a natural sugar in milk), gastric acidity and vitamin D all help the absorption of calcium. Excess oxalates, phytates and phosphates all obstruct the absorption of calcium.

In the opinion of experts, the population should increase their ingestion of calcium by consuming products that contain it or foods that have been calcium-enriched such as milk or yoghurt, or by taking calcium supplements.

Calcium is absorbed best if it is taken throughout the course of the day. Therefore, if taking it in supplements, it is best to do so during meals or in normal dairy products or those enriched with calcium.

In summary...

The recommended levels of calcium and vitamin D in the daily diet are similar for the reduction of risk of colon cancer, osteoporosis, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia.

It has been suggested that these pathologies are caused by or related to the low ingestion of calcium in today’s society. Therefore, to reduce its incidence the daily recommended intake is of around 1.500mg for women and 1.800mg for men, together with the daily administration of between 400 and 800 UI of vitamin D.

If these quantities cannot be assimilated in the diet it will be necessary to take supplements of both calcium and vitamin D. However, what is ideal is to acquire the calcium necessary in foods which already contain it or those that have been calcium-enriched.
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EXERCISES TO STRENGTHEN YOUR BONES

Physical exercise is fundamental to strengthen the bones.  We suggest a very simple routine to be done at home.

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PHYSICAL EXERCISE, AN ALLY FOR YOUR BONES

Sport is a great ally for your bones, and even more so if you practice it in the openair. In this article we explain the benefits of physical exercise for your bone health. Remember to complement this type of activity with a healthy, complete and balanced diet.

The bones of athletes

Sport is the best ally for your bones. Physical activity provokes muscular contraction which favours the depositing of calcium on the bone and improves blood circulation, which carries more nutrients to the bone.

The best way to avoid bone fractures is to start practicing sport in adolescence, when the greatest bone density is achieved. If you have already gone past “the awkward stage” you are still in time to strengthen your bones and avoid a retirement in plaster, by carrying out constant exercise, specifically for your bones.

If you are already combing some grey hair, you shouldn’t curl up on the sofa to avoid fractures, it has been seen that remaining standing for less than 4 hours and practicing less than 20 minutes of moderate exercise daily (walking will do) are risk factors.

The latest medical research shows that with specific exercises using weights, bone density can be increased in the elderly and bone fragility and symptoms of osteoporosis can be avoided.

Just as your muscles atrophy when you don’t work them with exercise, bones deteriorate when you stop moving. To achieve strong bones, you must work your muscular strength. The simple fact of living under the force of gravity, promotes calcification.

Astronauts who spend some time in space, in conditions of zero gravity, begin to lose bone density. As they do not need skeletal support to walk, the body adapts by weakening the bones.

The “hunkier” you get, the greater bone mass you develop. The same as the muscular tissue develops when doing exercises with weights, the bones also reconstruct and regenerate to support the muscular mass, and get stronger the more you train or weaker when you stop training your muscles. Exercises with weights or which provide muscle resistance, are the most advantageous in preventing bone decalcification.

Bones need to be worked with short and frequent loads every days, in order to maintain their strength.  It is important to increase the load gradually to achieve benefits.

Recommended sports

Although exercises that provide muscular resistance are the ones recommended for strengthening your bones, there are other sports which favour and stimulate bone density and resistance.

- Running. It is enough to run just half an hour, three times a week, to achieve an increase in mineral bone density in the spine and hips of the runners. The difference between running and walking for the bones is that when walking you only work with your body weight, whilst when you run a vertebrae from the spinal column supports 1,7 times your weight. To avoid impacts, you should choose good athletic shoes and avoid asphalt by running on grass and earth surfaces, which are better shock absorbers.

- Gym classes. Aerobic, fitness, spinning, step, cardiotonic, aero-tae-box, etc. Gymnasia have made sure that you cant get bored and can get fit. Any active sport, including exercises that load the bones and improve the circulation of the bone matrix. What is important is to vary the exercises and to be constant, none of this just going three times a month.

- Swimming. It is not the most useful sport for the bones given that the gravity which facilitates the attachment of calcium is eliminated in the water. But toning helps to maintain the muscles flexible and elastic. In addition, you can also now find group classes with weights that help people at risk of fracture to work their muscles without risk of fracture.

- Tai-Chi. One way of avoiding fractures is to improve balance and this oriental practice is much recommended for those who flee from more vigorous forms of physical activity.

- Walking. For the elderly, walking is a natural way of keeping the bones strong without risk. It is enough to walk at a fast pace for an hour to stimulate bone growth, climb stairs, small jumps, dance, any excuse is a good one to continue being active centenarians.

Be careful with being thin

Athletes have strong and protected bones when reaching maturity. However, excesses have to be paid for and there are sports where being thin is considered to be an advantage when it comes to competing.

Not just for gymnasts, long-distance runners, marathon runners, cyclists, etc. All try to maintain minimal weight to win that hundredth of a second that will beat a record.

If an intensive aerobic training is followed, along with a low-calorie diet, you will run the risk of developing the sportspersons triad, characterised by being excessively thin, loss of menstruation in women, eating problems and mineral bone disorders.

Remember... a balanced diet is part of the training of a sportsperson and invest in your health.

In the event of an injury...

When you suffer an injury and you are in plaster, the immobilised area will loss muscular and bone mass brought on by inactivity. But now there is a solution to avoid this.

A study of women who practiced weight training for one year, for one sole leg, managed to increase their muscular strength by up to 26% and the bone density and quality up to 2% in the trained leg. And more importantly, it also increased the bone density and strength in the untrained leg.

Therefore, if your left leg or arm is in plaster, now you know you have to get your right leg or arm in shape to counteract the immobility.

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YOUR BONES ARE FOREVER

From when we are little we are told that we should drink a glass of milk each day, because it contains a lot of calcium for our bones. Keeping bones strong is not so easy. Physical exercise, particularly with weights, is important to prevent osteoporosis. We propose a plan to make your bones so strong that you will dream of retiring so that you can practice extreme sports with your grandchildren.

Osteoporosis, the great enemy

It is not just women who should worry about maintaining bone density. Although loss of bone mass is identified as a problem affecting post-menopausal women, in reality, osteopenia or loss of bone mass, affects men just as much as women. It does not distinguish between the sexes, like wrinkles do.

From a certain age onwards, our bones, joints, skin, hair, brain and the rest of our tissues start to deteriorate. The problem is that women have a greater propensity for osteoporosis when reaching the menopause due to the loss of oestrogen production and, therefore, there is greater social awareness for maintaining the female bones than the male bones.

Men are also attacked by the silent rodent that eats bones, osteoporosis. From the age of 45 or 50 onwards, there are more men with symptoms of osteoporosis than with prostate cancer.

But if both men and women were to look after the quality of their bones from an early age, we would reach the critical age with a greater level of bone density than anyone else, and with stronger and more resistant bones.

If you start to strengthen your bones from your youth, you will be investing in the best pension plan which will enable to you keep reaping sporting merits in the veteran category.

Look after your bones your whole life

It is not the passage of years that fractures your bones, it is a poor diet and lack of physical exercise that are responsible for the onset of osteoporosis at retirement age. Strong and resistant bones do not solely belong to the young, the diet or physical exercise you do throughout your life strengthens your bones and protects them all your life.

Before lamenting lost bones, start investing in your osseous capital, your best sporting insurance. Osteoporosis that appears in old age is not inevitable. Your bones can take you wherever you want, if you look after them your whole life.

Nowadays we don’t just speak of bone density, but also bone resistance, in other words, it is not just the quantity that is important, the quality of the bone must also be considered. The bone must not only be strong, it must also adapt to change and support loads for longer, which is why it is necessary to look after the flexibility and elasticity of the bone and the muscle.

Solar energy

Without Vitamin D, calcium cannot be absorbed in the intestine and the bone becomes demineralised. Vitamin D is one of the few vitamins that we can naturally synthesize within the organism. They key lies in the sun, when we are exposed to UV rays, the skin produces a provitamin D which turns into active vitamin D in the liver and the kidneys, to thereafter develop its functions.

Taking a few minutes sunshine each day is an economical way of obtaining natural vitamin D. Make the most of the sunniest days to practice sport in the open air wearing shorts, in so doing you will build up a good reserve of this vitamin to see you through a couple of winter months.

Follow a healthy lifestyle

There are factors that increase the risk of developing osteoporosis. Not just through genetics, but principally through lifestyle. Eating disorders, restrictive diets, thyroid problems, treatment with steroids, problems with alcohol, stress, smoking, being sedentary, low levels of testosterone in men, sportswomen with amenorrhea (lack of menstruation), tall and thin constitution, premature menopause and being Caucasian, all predispose you to a greater bone fragility.