How much calcium vitamin d should i take?

Have you ever wondered how much calcium vitamin D should be taken per day? Well, look no further! You’re about to find out the answer to this important question that has been bugging you all these years.

What is Calcium and Vitamin D?

Calcium and vitamin D are essential nutrients that our body needs for various functions. Calcium helps in building strong bones while vitamin D aids in absorbing calcium from food.

Why Do We Need Them?

As we age, our bone density decreases which makes us prone to fractures and other related injuries. Therefore, it’s crucial to get enough amounts of both vitamins in your diet or supplements if needed.

Now that we know what they are and why we need them let’s delve deeper into understanding how much of each nutrient do we need?

The Recommended Daily Intake

According to the Institute of Medicine (now renamed as National Academy of Medicine), here’s a recommended daily intake based on their age group:

Age Group Calcium Vitamin D
0-6 months (infancy) 200 milligrams (mg) 400 international units (IU)
7-12 months (infancy) 260 mg 400 IU
1-3 years (toddlers/preschoolers) 700 mg 600 IU
4-8 years (children/household pests) 1000 mg 600 IU
9-13 years(Tweens/preteen) 1300 mg 600 IU
14–18 years(Teens)
(Male/Female) 1300mg/1300mg
19–50 years(Adults)
(Male/Female) 1000mg/1000mg
51–70 years(Seniors)
(Male/Female) 1000mg/1200mg
71+ years(Elders/Senile folks) 1200 mg

The Importance of Getting Enough Vitamin D

It’s important to note that vitamin D is created naturally in our body when we’re exposed to sunlight. However, not everyone gets enough sunshine due to various reasons like living in areas with limited sun exposure or having a strict indoor lifestyle.

That’s why it’s essential for such people to have adequate amounts of vitamin D through their diet or supplements.

Absorption Rates and Combining Intake

The human body can only absorb so much calcium at once, typically up to 500 mg from food sources. Beyond this, any additional calcium intake won’t be useful since the absorption capacity has been saturated.

Therefore, taking too much calcium all at once doesn’t increase its processing but instead could be harmful by forming kidney stones or interfering with other nutrient absorptions.

Taking some amount of magnesium alongside calcium can help prevent constipation as well as assist the absorption rate of both nutrients into the bloodstream better than taken alone.

Like most vitamins and minerals supplementing different doses over several days will improve uptake more optimally rather than big daily intakes hence mixing up your intakes throughout weekdays would go a long way on getting both Calcium and Vitamin-D absorbed correctly alternately especially if you are deficient in either mineral.

What Happens If I Don’t Get Enough?

If you don’t get enough calcium or vitamin D every day, your body will start leaching it from the bones leading to a less dense structure which in turn increases the risk of fractures or breakage. This disease is widely known as Osteoporosis and silently creeps in after years of calcium and vitamin deficits.

Calcium & Vitamin D Deficiency

Low levels of both vitamins calcium/D lead to serious long-term adverse health outcomes like

  1. Rickets – Symptoms include delayed growth, pain in bones.
  2. Osteomalacia – In adults weak muscles ,bone/fractural breaks etc…
  3. Muscle cramps
    4.Delays proper healing/recovery from bone injuries

However can also cause other diseases depending on each individual’s metabolic function

Conclusion

In conclusion, getting enough amounts of calcium and vitamin D is vital for our overall health with recommended daily intakes varying based on age group/ sex due to human bodily developmental needs.

If you are looking at taking supplements one must always consider synergies between both elements as well as regulate your daily intake to ensure optimal absorption into the bloodstream.This will help avoid risks associated with overconsumption while still securing good health well past retirement 🙂

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