It is important to understand the place calcium should have in your diet. Even though there have recently there have been several news items outlining the effects of having to little calcium in the average diet; the chances are that most people still don't fully appreciate the effect of calcium on your digestive processes and the working of your heart.

Calcium is one of the basic elements that have got to be there throughout the processing of our food during the digestive process, and during the beating of your heart. If you are suffering from a calcium deficiency in these two areas, then that can contribute to heart disease and osteoporosis where the bones are weakened. If you don't take enough calcium in via your daily diet or with vitamins, your body will start to extract the calcium reserves in your bones, to enable it to have enough to maintain the normal body processes. This is why older women are often susceptible to developing osteoporosis, and many of them don't even realize they are at risk from this debilitating condition. Once the amount of calcium in your blood drops to a low level, the body will start to draw calcium out of the bones. This will result the bones becoming more porous and brittle. This explains the rise in broken hips in older people, especially women.

To be able to absorb calcium into our bones two things are required the female hormone estrogen and exercise (even though estrogen is a female hormone it is present in males as well). As those of use who are somewhat older will know, both of these things are in shorter supply during our later years, mainly because the body doesn't create estrogen after the menopause, and as we get older, we gradually lose the ability to exercise to the same degree.

If you have decided that you want to supplement your calcium levels, there are certain forms of calcium that are more easily digested. The best absorbed type of calcium comes in the form of a pill in the form of calcium salt like calcium carbonate or calcium phosphate.

You do need to be careful about some forms of Calcium on the market today, both bone meal calcium and dolomite calcium have been found to some times contain toxic metals such as arsenic, mercury, lead, and cadmium. Also you may have heard that antacids contain calcium that you can use as a supplement instead of vitamins, this information is quite correct. However, to have any effect you'd have to take a handful of antacids and quite often they contain substances that disrupt the digestive process so it is best not to use them in this way. The best advice to get a supplement to you calcium level is to purchase a good calcium carbonate or phosphate vitamin supplement and establish the regular habit of taking them first thing in the morning with your breakfast.

However one word of warning, if you suffer from heart, kidney, liver disease, or high blood pressure, you must consult a physician before taking calcium supplements because they could result in taking to much calcium because the medicine you're already taking may contain a built in supplement, or may cause a reaction if combined with calcium.

The recommended daily dosage is 800 milligrams of calcium each day. This level is fairly accurate for most women until they are past the menopause and the level of estrogen production is reduced or even stops all together. At that time, calcium intake should be increased to a level of 1500 milligrams per day; almost double that of pre-menopausal women.

By the sensible use of a calcium supplement many experts think that you can help to off set some the problems associated with brittle bones in later life and also maintain a better heart function.

DISCLAIMER:

This information is not presented by a medical practitioner and is for educational and informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read.

Since natural and/or dietary supplements are not FDA approved a two-part disclaimer must accompany them on the product label: that FDA has not evaluated the statement and that the product is not intended to "diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease."