By Pavithra. N. Raj, Chief Dietician, Columbia Asia Referral Hospital Yeshwanthpur

How is Calcium and vitamin D related

  • Calcium and vitamin D work together to protect your bones—calcium helps build and maintain bones, while vitamin D helps your body effectively absorb calcium. So even if you’re taking in enough calcium, it could be going to waste if you’re deficient in vitamin D.
  • Vitamin D is essential in helping the body absorb and use calcium; in fact, the body cannot absorb calcium at all without some vitamin D. Vitamin D comes from two sources. It is made in the skin through direct exposure to sunlight, and it comes from the diet.
  • Vitamin D helps the intestines absorb calcium. However, the vitamin D must first be activated or “turned on” by parathyroid hormone (PTH). Once activated, vitamin D acts to greatly increase the amount of calcium that the intestines can absorb from food, sometimes by as much as two to four times.
  • Lack of calcium in our diet forces the body to take calcium from bones to keep blood levels normal, which weakens bones 

Vitamin D

What causes vitamin D deficiency?

  • How can I get more vitamin D?

There are a few foods that naturally have some vitamin D:

  • Fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel
  • Cheese
  • Mushrooms
  • Egg yolks
  • You can also get vitamin D from fortified foods. Foods that often have added vitamin D include
  • Milk
  • Breakfast cereals 

Note:

  • Excess vitamin D can also damage the kidneys. Too much vitamin D also raises the level of calcium in your blood. High levels of blood calcium (hypercalcemia) can cause confusion, disorientation, and problems with heart rhythm.
  • Most cases of vitamin D toxicity happen when someone overuses vitamin D supplements. Excessive sun exposure doesn’t cause vitamin D poisoning because the body limits the amount of this vitamin it produces.
  • If you have vitamin D deficiency, the treatment is with supplements. Check with your health care provider about how much you need to take, how often you need to take it, and how long you need to take it.

Calcium

  • What causes Calcium deficiency?

Insufficient intakes of calcium do not produce obvious symptoms in the short term because the body maintains calcium levels in the blood by taking it from bone. Over the long term, intakes of calcium below recommended levels have health consequences, such as causing low bone mass (osteopenia) and increasing the risks of osteoporosis and bone fractures.

  • Factors that affect calcium absorbed
  • Efficiency of calcium absorption decreases as people age. Recommended calcium intakes are higher for people over age 70.
  • Vitamin D intake. This vitamin, present in some foods and produced in the body when skin is exposed to sunlight, increases calcium absorption.
  • Other components in food. Both oxalic acid (in some vegetables and beans) and phytic acid (in whole grains) can reduce calcium absorption. People who eat a variety of foods don’t have to consider these factors. They are accounted for in the calcium recommended intakes, which take absorption into account.

 Corporate Comm India (CCI Newswire)