Calcium is known mainly for its role in building and maintaining strong bones and teeth, but it is good for the proper functioning of the heart, muscles, and nervous system. It plays a role in maintaining normal blood pressure, regulating blood clotting, and preventing digestive tract cancers. It is also associated with relieving mood swings, food cravings and decreasing the pain, tenderness, and bloating associated with premenstrual syndrome. Calcium deficiency symptoms range from minor - numbness or tingling of the fingers, muscle cramps, lethargy, and poor appetite - to more severe mental confusion, skeletal malformations, dermatitis, and in infants, delayed development. Illnesses such as osteoporosis (brittle, thin, porous bones that easily break) and rickets are also associated with a deficiency.
If vitamin D levels are optimal, most adults should meet their daily calcium needs via a varied diet that includes a wide variety of calcium-rich foods. When individuals are unable to get enough calcium through a diet of calcium-rich foods, or for those who may need more than the recommended daily allowance, supplements can help. Dr. Weil recommends women supplement with 500 to 700 mg of calcium citrate in two divided doses taken with meals for a total of 1,000-1,200 mg a day from all sources (including diet). For men, Dr. Weil recommends not using calcium supplements (except by physician require) and getting 500-600 mg per day through diet. Dr. Weil suggests supplementing with calcium citrate more easily absorbing than other forms, taken with half the dosage amount of magnesium.
According to the National Institutes of Health, the regular daily recommended intake for children is as follows: infants through three years of age are 400-800 mg; children between 4 and 10 years of age is 800 mg; adolescents from 11 to 19 years old males are 800-1,200 mg, and females are 800-1,200 mg daily.
Above abstract source: Dr. Weil, Andrew
Ping’s Acupuncture experience: people who lack calcium will very quickly get moody, have insomnia, leg cramps, hives, and skin rash even if their calcium level show normal in the blood. When they take calcium 1200mg/day with vitamin D 800 IU, their above symptoms should quickly vanish. We also found more than 80% of people show their vitamin D blood level is below average. Therefore, they need to take vitamin D supplements which help with calcium absorption.
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