Calcium in diet

Alternative names:

diet and calcium

Definition:

The most plentiful mineral found in the human body; calcium accounts for 1.5 to 2% of an adult's total body weight. The teeth and the bones contain the majority of the body's calcium (about 99%). Calcium in these tissues is concentrated in the form of calcium phosphate salts. Body tissues, blood, and other body fluids contain the remaining calcium (1%).

Functions:

Calcium is one of the most important minerals for the growth, maintenance, and reproduction of the human body. The bones in the human body incorporate calcium into their structure. Bones, like other tissues in the body, are continually being reabsorbed and re-formed. Teeth are also calcified tissues. They incorporate calcium in their structure in a manner similar to bones. Calcium is essential for the formation of and maintenance of healthy teeth.

Calcium has other functions in addition to maintaining healthy teeth and bones. Blood coagulation, transmission of nerve impulses, muscle contraction and relaxation, normal heart beat, stimulation of hormone secretion, activation of enzyme reactions, as well as other functions all require small amounts of calcium.