Over 40% of the U.S population does not get a sufficient daily amount of calcium.Calcium is essential for maintaining normal bone health and structure, and it also has other vital functions such as assisting with muscle function and nerve transmission.
Learn how much calcium you need each day, and how it canbenefit your health.
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Benefits of Calcium
Your body is constantly breaking down and remodeling bone, and you need calcium to help rebuild your bone. Calcium also helps your body maximize the size and strength of your bone, also known as peak bone mass.
Although your genes primarily determine your peak bone mass, calcium can be an influencing factor. Most people don’t reach peak bone mass until the ages of 25 to 30.From age 25 to 50, bone density tends to stay stable, and it usually begins to break down after age 50.
A diet that includes adequate calcium consumption from childhood to adulthood can help the peak bone mass reach its greatest potential, which can delay bone loss when the bone starts to break down with age.
Calcium also plays an important role in other bodily functions. It’s needed for the chemical processes that cells use to carry out a variety of actions in the body, such as releasing essential enzymes for digestionand enabling muscles to contract, including the heart muscle.
What Happens If You Don’t Get Enough
Not getting enough calcium can be harmful to your health. Since calcium is required for so many vital functions, your body will take it from your bones if you don’t get enough in your diet.This can weaken your bones and make them more susceptible to fractures.
A severe calcium deficiency can lead to a condition known ashypocalcemia, which is when there is deficient calcium in the blood.
Hypocalcemia may lead to symptoms such as:
In addition, research suggests that calcium deficiency may be associated with other conditions, including:
The Role of Vitamin DVitamin D is important for calcium absorption. However, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, up to 90% of adults are not receiving an adequate amount of vitamin D from their diet.Vitamin D and calcium supplementationmay help you get enough of these nutrients if you’re deficient in them.
The Role of Vitamin D
Vitamin D is important for calcium absorption. However, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, up to 90% of adults are not receiving an adequate amount of vitamin D from their diet.Vitamin D and calcium supplementationmay help you get enough of these nutrients if you’re deficient in them.
How Much Calcium You Need Per Day
The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is the national system of nutrition recommendations. In 2020, The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) jointly released updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which set the following RDAs for calcium:
Children
Women
Pregnant Women
Lactating Women
Men
The Best Way to Get Calcium
The best way to get calcium is from natural sources in your diet. Dietary sources are absorbed into the body more efficiently than calcium supplementsand different types of calcium-rich foods also contain other important nutrients that your body needs, like protein, iron, vitamin A, vitamin D, and vitamin C.
Dietary Sources
A variety of foods contain ample amounts of calcium. Below is a table of some of the best dietary sources.
Supplements
If you aren’t getting an adequate amount of calcium from natural sources, calcium supplementation may be an option to try.
There are four main types of calcium supplements:
Each type has varying amounts of elemental calcium, which is the actual amount of calcium that the body can absorb.
SupplementAmount of Elemental CalciumCalcium carbonate40%Calcium citrate21%Calcium lactate13%Calcium gluconate9%Calcium carbonate is absorbed with the aid of stomach acid, so it’s important to take it with food.Calcium citrate is easier for the body to absorb and does not need to be taken with food.Because of this, calcium citrate can be a good option for people who have an absorption disorder orinflammatory bowel disease (IBD).Calcium lactate and calcium gluconate may be found in over-the-counter supplements. And calcium gluconate is used in IV therapy to treathyperkalemia, which is an excess amount of potassium in the blood.The Best Herbs for Osteoporosis
Calcium carbonate is absorbed with the aid of stomach acid, so it’s important to take it with food.
Calcium citrate is easier for the body to absorb and does not need to be taken with food.Because of this, calcium citrate can be a good option for people who have an absorption disorder orinflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Calcium lactate and calcium gluconate may be found in over-the-counter supplements. And calcium gluconate is used in IV therapy to treathyperkalemia, which is an excess amount of potassium in the blood.
The Best Herbs for Osteoporosis
10 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, 9th edition.Beto JA.The role of calcium in human aging.Clin Nutr Res. 2015;4(1):1-8. doi:10.7762/cnr.2015.4.1.1National Institutes of Health.Calcium.The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.Healthy bones at every age.John Hopkins Medicine.Osteoporosis: What you need to know as you age.Xie R, Tang B, Yong X, Luo G, Yang SM.Roles of the calcium sensing receptor in digestive physiology and pathophysiology (review).Int J Oncol. 2014;45(4):1355-1362. doi: 10.3892/ijo.2014.2560Kuo IY, Ehrlich BE.Signaling in muscle contraction.Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2015;7(2):a006023. doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a006023Cleveland Clinic.Increasing calcium in your diet.Cleveland Clinic.Osteoporosis: prevention with calcium treatment.Chakraborty A, Can AS.Calcium gluconate.
10 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, 9th edition.Beto JA.The role of calcium in human aging.Clin Nutr Res. 2015;4(1):1-8. doi:10.7762/cnr.2015.4.1.1National Institutes of Health.Calcium.The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.Healthy bones at every age.John Hopkins Medicine.Osteoporosis: What you need to know as you age.Xie R, Tang B, Yong X, Luo G, Yang SM.Roles of the calcium sensing receptor in digestive physiology and pathophysiology (review).Int J Oncol. 2014;45(4):1355-1362. doi: 10.3892/ijo.2014.2560Kuo IY, Ehrlich BE.Signaling in muscle contraction.Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2015;7(2):a006023. doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a006023Cleveland Clinic.Increasing calcium in your diet.Cleveland Clinic.Osteoporosis: prevention with calcium treatment.Chakraborty A, Can AS.Calcium gluconate.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, 9th edition.Beto JA.The role of calcium in human aging.Clin Nutr Res. 2015;4(1):1-8. doi:10.7762/cnr.2015.4.1.1National Institutes of Health.Calcium.The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.Healthy bones at every age.John Hopkins Medicine.Osteoporosis: What you need to know as you age.Xie R, Tang B, Yong X, Luo G, Yang SM.Roles of the calcium sensing receptor in digestive physiology and pathophysiology (review).Int J Oncol. 2014;45(4):1355-1362. doi: 10.3892/ijo.2014.2560Kuo IY, Ehrlich BE.Signaling in muscle contraction.Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2015;7(2):a006023. doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a006023Cleveland Clinic.Increasing calcium in your diet.Cleveland Clinic.Osteoporosis: prevention with calcium treatment.Chakraborty A, Can AS.Calcium gluconate.
U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, 9th edition.
Beto JA.The role of calcium in human aging.Clin Nutr Res. 2015;4(1):1-8. doi:10.7762/cnr.2015.4.1.1
National Institutes of Health.Calcium.
The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.Healthy bones at every age.
John Hopkins Medicine.Osteoporosis: What you need to know as you age.
Xie R, Tang B, Yong X, Luo G, Yang SM.Roles of the calcium sensing receptor in digestive physiology and pathophysiology (review).Int J Oncol. 2014;45(4):1355-1362. doi: 10.3892/ijo.2014.2560
Kuo IY, Ehrlich BE.Signaling in muscle contraction.Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2015;7(2):a006023. doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a006023
Cleveland Clinic.Increasing calcium in your diet.
Cleveland Clinic.Osteoporosis: prevention with calcium treatment.
Chakraborty A, Can AS.Calcium gluconate.
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