Lack of calcium in the body: signs. How to make up for a lack of calcium

In order for the body to function properly, it is necessary to provide it with vitamins, minerals and other useful elements. One such substance is calcium, which is needed for the preservation of teeth and bones. Archaeological research has shown that primitive people already had a shortage of calcium in the body, the signs of which were manifested by the rarefaction of bone mass.

The role of calcium in the human body

The body of an adult healthy person contains about 1000 g of this microelement (in the teeth, skeleton, urine, blood). It occurs in ionized and non-ionized states. This chemical element provides a normal structure of bones and teeth, coagulability of blood, coordinated work of the muscular apparatus, carrying out of nerve impulses, working capacity of parathyroid glands. Lack of calcium in the body leads to violations of important processes. He takes part in protecting the colon from tumor processes, combating inflammatory and allergic phenomena.

During puberty, the daily requirement for the element reaches a maximum (about 1200 mg), because it is then that the process of accumulation of bone mass occurs. Then, beginning at the age of 25, it gradually decreases (800 mg). The increase in demand for a microelement may be due to active physical activities, the period of breastfeeding or bearing a child.

Why there is a shortage

Calcium deficiency in the body can have different origins. Among the most common reasons doctors call the following: pathology of the parathyroid glands (the production of parathyroid hormone that increases calcium absorption), Cushing's disease (the transportation of calcium to the blood through the cells of the small intestine is hindered by excess glucocorticosteroids), the intake of glucocorticosteroids, thyroid disease.

Lack of calcium in the body, the symptoms of which interfere with a normal lifestyle, can also be caused by vitamin D deficiency, intestinal diseases. And still urolithiasis, lack of estrogens, hypocalcemia diet, hypodynamia, abundant perspiration, work with fluorine-containing dust and phosphate fertilizers.

Symptoms

When there is a lack of calcium in the body, its signs are caused by the washing out of this trace element from the skeleton to the blood. In the initial period, this condition does not pose a health hazard, provided that adequate replenishment is provided. But if you do not supply calcium in the body with its deficiency, then you can face various adverse effects.

Thus, patients with this problem begin to suffer from bone pain (caused by loss of bone mass and thinning), muscle cramps, tooth decay, pathological fractures, arrhythmia, memory loss, skeletal malformations. Pregnant women suffer from severe toxicosis due to lack of calcium in the body. Symptoms can affect the condition of an unborn baby.

Calcium deficiency in children

Calcium is a very important substance for children, because it takes part in the growth and development of the child. This micronutrient should be delivered daily to the baby in the amount of 500 to 1000 mg. In addition to participating in the growth of bones, it also affects the performance of the entire body. It is important not to allow the emergence of a defect, as this may affect the child's further development. The result of a deficit may be problems in the growth of the teeth and the development of the skeleton, abnormal functioning of the nervous system. To prevent this condition, doctors recommend giving the child calcium supplements for children.

Consequences of micronutrient deficiency in the baby's body can be manifested in the form of seizures, deterioration of blood coagulability, skin damage, hair loss, tooth decay, bone fragility, cloudy lens of the eye, skeletal development. Lack of calcium in a child is detected by external signs - the condition of hair, nails, teeth deteriorates.

Diagnostics

To effectively eliminate the problem, it must be diagnosed in time to protect the person from possible consequences. Lack of calcium in the body, the signs of which at the initial stage externally appear little, is diagnosed with some difficulty. This is due to the fact that the clinical symptomatology (for example, bone pain) of a mineral deficiency can have a different origin. Low calcium in the blood is often not associated with its deficiency in the body, and may be due to a decrease in serum proteins.

To diagnose the deficiency, doctors analyze the mineral composition of the hair, evaluate the density and structure of bones (densitometry), determine the level of ionized calcium in the blood.

Diet treatment

Lack of calcium in the body, the symptoms of which can lead to the development of more complex diseases, requires immediate treatment. Doctors resort to two ways of adjusting the deficit: diet therapy and drug treatment.

The first option is to prescribe a diet that contains food sources of the microelement. These are food products, including milk products (sour cream, cheese, kefir, yoghurt, cottage cheese), green vegetables (broccoli, white cabbage), canned fish (sardines), turnips, seeds, sesame, juices, calcium fortified flour, Beans, nuts.

Diet therapy also provides for the refusal of food, which adversely affects the absorption of calcium in the body. Such products include, first of all, alcoholic drinks, sodas and coffee.

Medication

When a person faces such a problem as a lack of calcium, for safety of his health and prevention of consequences, he must go to a polyclinic, where he will be assigned certain ways out of this situation. If the patient's condition is no longer amenable to diet therapy, then in this case it is recommended to take medications that contain a large amount of this trace element. Therefore, if there was a question, how to fill a lack of calcium, it is better not to respond to it on your own, and entrust this matter to experienced specialists.

So, medicines are divided into several categories: calcium preparations (Calcium gluconate), calcium and vitamin D (Calcium-D3 Nycomed, Natekal), vitamin-mineral complexes (Nutrimaks, Multitabs, "Complivit"). The latter are more suitable for prevention, since they contain a small dose of the mineral.

Prevention

To protect yourself from the deficit problem, you need to periodically apply measures to prevent. First of all, it is recommended to include in your daily diet foods that are considered natural sources of calcium (dairy products). The use of alcohol will also benefit.

Those patients who need an additional dose in a certain period of time are advised to use calcium supplements. This applies to athletes, pregnant women, women breastfeeding. The child also needs an additional dose of a microelement for healthy growth and development, so parents should give them calcium preparations for children so that they have strong bones, teeth and beautiful hair.