Causes of Calcium Deficiency During Menopause and Foods to Replace This Loss

Bones are the building blocks of any living organism. Can you imagine any living organism without bones? Without bones a human being would resemble a sack without strength and capability to move.The structure and the shape of the human body is imparted by the skeletal arrangement of the bones in the body. The bone contains many minerals and the strength of the bones is indicated by the Bone mineral density (BMD). ("A guide to Nutrition", Anthony Marcs, c 2005) Calcium is an important component in the formation of the bones.

As women age, they tend to experience bone loss characterized by the lower calcium levels in the body. When calcium intake is low, the blood demineralizes the bone in order to maintain the normal levels of calcium within it. It is quite important to maintain optimum calcium levels in the body by engaging in rigorous exercise. This will increase calcium absorption and enable improvement in bone mass. In conjunction to this, a supplemental use of calcium to maintain calcium levels in the body is a good idea so as to avoid bone loss.

Menopause is usually a time when an increase in calcium is needed. Menopause is a natural process in women where the menstrual cycle ends and ceases the ability for a women to become pregnant. Normal levels of estrogen help the bones to absorb calcium to impart strength to the body. As women reach menopause the cycle production of estrogen is less than usual. Ultimately the absorption of calcium into the bone is less causing bone density to fall. As time passes by, the bone density can fall to alarming levels and impart brittleness and fragility to bones. To avoid these abnormal conditions in the body nutritionists recommend supplemental calcium intakes of 1000 to 1200 mg of calcium before and 1300 to 1500 mg of calcium after menopause. ("Jones' Journal of Medicine", Jones, c 1998).

Further deficiency in calcium causes osteoporosis, a condition where the bones become fragile and break mainly due to loss of BMD. It is well known that calcium imparts bone strength and as a result deficiency in calcium accelerates bone loss and causes osteoporosis. Hence, supplemental usage of calcium is suggested for the treatment of osteoporosis.

Deficiency in calcium has been known to cause problems with blood pressure as well. Blood pressure is measured in two ways -when the heart is under action, called systolic pressure, and when the heart is at rest, called diastolic pressure-and is expressed in mm of Hg .The normal blood pressure of the body as per the American Heart Association is 140/80 mm Hg for men and 120/80 mm Hg for women . ("Combating High Blood Pressure," John Stouse, c 2002) The first part of the blood pressure component is the systolic pressure and the other part is the Diastolic pressure. Observations have shown that if there is a deficiency in calcium then the result can be high blood pressure, especially during pregnancy.

Women can increase their calcium intake by eating certain foods. Calcium is found in many sources such as whole grains, milk, fish, cheese, nuts, legumes, sprats, yogurt, nuts, spinach, pilchards, poultry, sardines and tripe. Foods that contain good sources of calcium maintain normal levels of calcium in the body to help us resolve major issues that can be caused due to deficiencies in calcium. As women approach the age of menopause they should consult their doctor as to how much calcium they will need before during and after this stage in their life.