If you’re devoted to keeping your bones healthy, you’re probably aware that calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D all play a role in maintaining strong bones. But did you know that these nutrients have other important jobs in your body?
If you’re not getting enough of them, this quick overview of recent research on calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D may spark your interest in getting more foods (or supplements) containing the nutrients.
Calcium. Most of your body’s calcium supply, save for a small amount, is housed in your bones. But tissues and processes throughout your body require the mineral, including your muscles and nerves. Getting adequate calcium is crucial for both meeting these needs and maintaining bone health.
But calcium may also help protect you from colon polyps, some research suggests. In a 2010 study, researchers combined the results of earlier studies and found that among people who’d had colon polyps before, those taking calcium supplements had a 20-percent lower risk of having more polyps. These growths in the colon are a concern because they can eventually become cancerous.
Magnesium. Like calcium, your body also keeps much of its stores of magnesium in your bones, and the mineral plays a part in a wide array of internal processes. It may also help protect you from high blood pressure.
Some research has found that a diet high in magnesium can help lower blood pressure. For example, one study that combined the results of 20 earlier studies found that magnesium supplements were associated with lower blood pressure. But other studies have found conflicting results. Still, many foods that are rich sources of magnesium are also tasty and nutritious, including almonds, halibut, spinach, and black-eyed peas. \
Vitamin D. This vitamin helps your body absorb the calcium from the foods you eat, which makes it an important protector of your bones. But the nutrient is worth getting for many other reasons. Researchers are finding that low vitamin D levels could possibly raise your risk of a variety of chronic diseases, including stroke, heart attacks, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Low vitamin D may also be linked to autoimmune diseases like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis. The vitamin could also have an anti-cancer effect in your body.
Of course, researchers still have a lot to learn about how helpful the vitamin may be in preventing these diseases. In the meantime, you can find the vitamin in fortified milk, cereal, and orange juice, and fish like salmon and tuna. Your body also manufactures the vitamin after your skin is exposed to just a few minutes of sunlight.
Get The Most Value From Your Calcium
Not all calcium supplements are alike, and steps you can take may help you absorb more of the calcium they contain. Here’s how to use calcium supplements more effectively, courtesy of the National Institutes of Health and the National Osteoporosis Foundation:
- Reach for citrate in certain cases. Calcium in the calcium citrate form may be easier for you to absorb than supplements of calcium carbonate if you’re low on stomach acid. Consider taking the citrate form if you use Prevacid, Prilosec, or Nexium, which are medications that reduce stomach acid.
- Break it down. You absorb calcium best in doses of 500 milligrams or less. If you’re taking more each day, divide it into smaller doses.
- Help yourself feel better. Calcium supplements may trigger gas or constipation. Calcium citrate may cause fewer side effects. Taking the supplement with food and plenty of fluids may help, too.
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