Calcium | Calcium glycinate

Calcium | Calcium glycinate

Properties: Healthy bones? Only with calcium! Thanks to this macroelement bones acquire proper hardness and endurance. After all, almost the entire amount of calcium found in our organism is located in the bones since it is their fundamental building material. For this reason, the best way to prevent bone demineralisation and osteoporosis is to maintain the optimal calcium level in the body. 

Although strengthening of the skeleton is by no means a basic function of calcium, we should not forget about its other properties. In the human organism calcium is actually responsible for many important things, including proper functioning of the muscles, regulation of sleep, regeneration processes, and even the quality of mood! Moreover, it supports the nervous system because it takes part in the transmission of neuronal signals. The supplementation of calcium is particularly beneficial when we want to improve our memory. Scientists have demonstrated that calcium is necessary in the process of forming new neural connections. This fascinating ability of our brain is called neuroplasticity, and is the fundamental mechanism of long-term memory. Thus, by regularly supplementing calcium we improve our intellectual performance, especially in terms of information acquisition.

One more property of calcium, which is perhaps less known than the others, is its influence on the immune system. As it turns out, this macroelement is able to stimulate the activity of cells that participate in the immune reaction. What is more, it also plays a role in maintaining the homeostasis of the organism. More specifically, calcium regulates the permeability of cellular membranes, takes part in multiple metabolic processes, and counteracts the spread of inflammation. Taken together, all these properties have extraordinarily positive effects on our health.

It is worth remembering that calcium efficiency largely depends on the amount of vitamin D3 in our organism. The main role of this vitamin, apart from supporting the immune system and regulating hormonal secretion, is maintaining optimal calcium level. In other words, these two compounds work well together and so it is essential to ensure none of them is missing. In this way, we can certainly take good care of our body!

Occurrence: Calcium can be found in many products, both animal- and plant-based. The main sources of calcium in the diet are milk and dairy: cottage cheese, buttermilk, kefir, whey-based drinks, however, the greatest amounts of calcium can be found in cheese. This macroelement also occurs in almonds, nuts, poppy seeds and sunflower seeds. It can be found in vegetables such as carrot, spinach, kale, broccoli, beans or cabbage. A good way to provide calcium to the body is also eating fish – preferably sardines and sprats eaten with bones.

Biochemistry: Calcium (Ca) is a chemical element from the group of metals, one of the five most abundant in the Earth’s crust. Adult human body contains around 1 kg of calcium – 99% in the skeleton, whereas the other 1% is dispersed in remaining tissues. Calcium is absorbed to blood from the small intestine via active transport regulated mostly by vitamin D3. It can also be absorbed from the large intestine if the food is calcium-rich.

Calcium is essential for the proper course of many important processes throughout the body. For instance, it maintains the acid-base equilibrium, regulates the cellular membrane permeability, plays a role in the secretion of multiple enzymes and neural signalling. Moreover, it helps to normalize the blood pressure and the functioning of the heart muscle. On top of that, it is responsible for proper contraction and relaxation of muscle fibers. Last but not least, it improves the condition of the bones and increases their resistance. In the light of all these properties the deficit of calcium – hypocalcemia – can lead to serious consequences. Indeed, it results in skeletal demineralisation that weakens the bones and thus makes them fracture-prone. Other effects include increased risk of teeth decay, muscle tension and aches, limbs numbness, disruption of heart functioning, blood coagulation, and even occurrence of psychological issues, including anxiety and depression episodes.

Fun fact: Calcium does not occur in nature in its free state. Instead, it forms many chemical compounds. The most common of them is calcium oxide (CaO). In 1808, using CaO in a hydrolysis reaction, English chemist Sir Humphry Davy first identified calcium as an element.