Calcium: to eat or not to eat?

It is difficult to overestimate the role of calcium in the human body. In confirmation of this we can say that the total pool of calcium in the human body is about 2% of the entire body weight of an individual, which is ten times more than the amount of any other electrolyte in our body. In physiological conditions, the bulk of calcium, which is about 99% of its total amount, does not participate in metabolic processes, and is in a bound state in bone tissue. The remaining 1% of calcium is in the dissolved state and 50-60% of this value is directly in the ionised state, it is this part of the total amount and takes part in such vital processes as:

1. Nerve-muscular transmission of impulses;

2. Blood coagulation processes;

3. The workings of the heart muscle;

4. Formation of cellular action potentials on cell membranes;

5. Production and activation of a huge number of enzymes involved in virtually all biologically relevant processes of the whole organism;

6. Formation of bone density. 

How does calcium deficiency manifest itself in the body? 

So, each of us, for one reason or another, may face such conditions as calcium deficiency (hypocalcaemia) or calcium excess (hypercalcaemia), which is equally bad for our health. But in order to interpret these conditions correctly, we first need to know what the normal values of ionised calcium in the blood are: 1.17 - 1.29 mmol/l. As you can see, the normal range is very small, so from deficiency to excess is only one step!         

Now let's take a closer look at how these conditions manifest themselves clinically.

Hypocalcaemia (plasma calcium is less than 1.17 mmol/l) - develops at hypoalbuminaemia (insufficiency of albumin in blood plasma), pancreatitis, long-term biliary fistulas, vitamin D deficiency, violation of absorption in small intestine, after long-term, traumatic surgical interventions, and most importantly - at reduction of alimentary (with food) calcium intake into the human body (normal daily requirement of a person in calcium is about 700-800 mg/day).

This condition is primarily manifested by:

1. increased neuromuscular excitability;

2. a sensation of goosebumps on the skin;

3. paroxysmal tachycardia (sudden, rapid heartbeat);

4. cramping of the calf muscles;

5. slowed blood clotting;

6. brittleness of teeth, hair, nails;

7. osteoporosis, increased risk of bone fractures;

8. delayed development in infants.

Correction of hypocalcaemia is carried out after clinical and laboratory determination of calcium in blood plasma by intravenous administration of preparations containing ionised calcium. Such drugs can include: calcium gluconate, calcium lactate, calcium chloride or calcium bicarbonate. But all these measures will have an effect only if the level of plasma albumin is corrected beforehand. That is why, when determining the amount of plasma calcium, it is necessary to determine the amount of plasma albumin, because the combined correction of the level of these substances and determines primarily a favourable outcome of this condition.

Hypercalcaemia (plasma calcium is more than 1.29 mmol/l). This condition occurs in all processes accompanied by increased bone destruction (this is osteomyelitis, as well as various tumor processes of bone tissue), as well as this condition is often manifested in diseases of the parathyroid glands (eg, adenoma, parathyroiditis), excessive administration of calcium preparations against the background of treatment of hypocalcaemia.

The clinical presentation of this condition:

1. Rapid fatigue during the working day;

2. Muscle weakness and marked lethargy;

3. Ausea, vomiting, constipation and flatulence;

4. Formation of kidney stones.

 Severe hypercalcaemia results in:1.Hallucinations

2.Coma

3. Нeart rhythm disturbance

4. Fatal outcome

Unlike the therapy of the above mentioned condition, the therapy of hypercalcaemia requires a more serious approach....

Recently, a series of studies have confirmed the role of calcium in obesity processes. The experiment was based, in particular, on the fact that a group of women was collected, some of whom received products rich in calcium and eating these products, these women fully met their daily need for it, while the other part, respectively, received products containing a minimum amount of this electrolyte. As a result, women who consumed insufficient amount of calcium with food during the experiment gained weight, while those women who consumed sufficient amount of calcium, on the contrary, not only did not gain weight, but also lost it. In particular, the experiment proved that people who consume a small amount of calcium, want to eat more and more often, due to the desire of the brain to compensate for the lack of calcium in the body.

In comments to this experiment, I would like to add that if you, our dear women and men, have decided to give battle to overweight, then before starting this war, make sure that your flanks are covered. That is, you need to undergo a comprehensive examination, and in particular, take a blood test for the quantitative content of blood plasma calcium.

Taking into account all the above mentioned, we would like to say that calcium is really a very important electrolyte in the human body and its maintenance at the proper level is not a priority, but an important enough task on the way to our health and longevity. In this connection, we would like to advise you to determine the level of calcium in your blood at least once a year in order to diagnose hidden.