98% of all calcium in your body is stored in your bones. Calcium is important for many reasons, most importantly:

• Gives strength to your body's skeletal system and teeth
• Protects from osteoporosis, the fourth leading cause of death for women.
• Lowers blood pressure and regulates heart functions
• Strengthens teeth and helps prevent gum disease
• Stimulates fat-burning enzymes that regulate weight
• Raises 'good' cholesterol levels and lowers 'bad' cholesterol levels
• May slow or stop the formation of cataracts
• Helps stabilize our mood by stimulating certain hormones
• Prevents painful muscle cramps

Calcium deficiency is a major problem in the US, where over 90% of all women receive less than half of their recommended dietary allowance of calcium. Over 98% of the calcium your body is stored in bones, where it is used to give bones their strength. If your diet's calcium level is low, your body must draw on your bones to replace the lost calcium in your bloodstream, which can lead to more cavities, bone fractures, and even bone deformations such as rickets.

Problems created from calcium deficiency:

• Osteoperosis, the weakening of bones. More women die from Osteoporosis than breast cancer, cancer of the cervix, and cancer of the uterus combined!
• There is a suggested link between Calcium deficiency and Colon Cancer
• Hypertension
• High Blood Pressure

Only approximately 25% of the calcium we consume each day is utilized due to the interference of other nutrients in calcium absorption. Try to avoid excessive amounts of these guys:

• Salt. Just one teaspoon a day can cause a 1.5% loss in bone density each year!
• Caffeine. More than three cups of coffee (about 350mg) has been shown to contribute to bone loss by encouraging the bloodstream to flush calcium from your system. Caffeine is in coffee, tea, chocolate, and most sodas.
• Fat. Too much fat in the bloodstream can combine with calcium and block its absorption.
• Alcohol. More than two alcoholic drinks can disrupt your body's ability to absorb calcium and encourage your body to flush calcium from your system.
• Phosphoric Acid. This is usually found in sodas, and causes the body to flush calcium from the bloodstream and out of the body.
• Oxalic Acid or Phytic Acid. Found in spinach, beets, turnips, and green beans, they block 95% of the calcium in these foods (which on a chart look like they are high in calcium) from being absorbed.

Did You Know: Statistically speaking, you're probably only getting about 900mg/day, when the optimum amount for bone growth is 1200-1500 a day!

Low calcium levels in your age group will accelerate the loss of bone mass.

Vitamins that help Calcium:

• Vitamin D. It helps the body absorb calcium from food going through the digestive system, and helps the kidneys in maintaining a proper level of calcium in the bloodstream. Additionally, Vitamin D can help the body cope with periods of low calcium intake.
• Vitamin C. It improves calcium absorbtion in the body.
• Magnesium. It works along with calcium to build stronger bones and regulates how calcium is used in some parts of the body.
• Potassium. It works as a team with calcium and magnesium in some of the body's functions, like blood pressure.
• Zinc.

Recommended Dietary Allowances

Excellent sources of Calcium:

• Skim Milk! A glass of skim milk has about 300mg of calcium.
• Yogurt . Nonfat yogurt can have as much as 500mg of calcium.
• Waffles. One waffle usually contains around 170mg of calcium.
• Tofu . Half a cup of tofu contains about 430mg of calcium.

References

• Kaye, Edita M. Bone Builders^(tm). New York: Warner Books, 1995.
• Optimal Calcium Intake. NIH Consens Statement Online 1994 June 6-8; 12(4):1-31