How much calcium should be supplemented every day?

Many foods that people eat contain calcium. For example, everyone likes to drink milk, which is very high in calcium. Parents often give milk to their children. One important purpose is to supplement calcium. Here we must remind everyone that calcium supplementation must be done scientifically. In addition to simple calcium supplementation, we must also pay attention to the supplementation of vitamin D. Under normal circumstances, how much calcium does a person need every day?

Daily calcium supplementation:

The best time to supplement calcium: "two ends" and "middle stage"

In a person's life, the "ends" and "middle stages" are the most likely to be deficient in calcium, and are also the best times to supplement calcium.

"Two ends" refers to children and the elderly. Children and adolescents grow and develop rapidly and have a high demand for calcium. As people enter old age, calcium loss increases significantly. Bone calcium loss begins at around 50 years old for women and around 65 years old for men, and continues throughout old age.

The "middle stage" refers to a woman's pregnancy and lactation period, when one person is responsible for the nutritional responsibility of "two people".

During these special physiological periods in life, the body is in a state of "calcium starvation" due to increased demand for calcium or accelerated calcium loss. At this time, calcium supplementation not only has a high absorption rate, but can also effectively prevent calcium deficiency-related diseases.

The worst time to supplement calcium: fasting

Calcium ingested orally, whether in food or in various calcium supplements, must be dissociated into calcium ions under the action of gastric acid after entering the human body. Without the decomposition and digestion of gastric acid, calcium cannot be well absorbed and utilized by the body.

The secretion of gastric acid mainly depends on the time of food intake. When food is chewed in the mouth, the gastric wall cells begin to prepare to secrete gastric acid. Gastric acid can not only dissociate calcium in food and various calcium supplements, but also has a certain neutralizing effect on alkaline calcium supplements, thereby reducing their irritation to the gastric mucosa. Therefore, it is not advisable to supplement calcium on an empty stomach.

The best time to supplement calcium in a day: before bedtime, 1 hour after meals

Supplement calcium before going to bed: Scientists have found that the best time to supplement calcium during the day is before going to bed every night. Supplementing calcium before going to bed can provide sufficient raw materials for calcium metabolism at night, increase the concentration of calcium in the blood, and reduce the occurrence of diseases such as heart disease, stroke, asthma, and emphysema. At the same time, the time of day when bones absorb calcium most is at night. Taking calcium tablets or drinking milk before going to bed with 1 to 2 soda crackers is a classic strategy for calcium supplementation recognized worldwide.

Calcium supplementation during the day: Taking calcium supplementation during meals will reduce the body's calcium absorption rate and cause waste, while gastric acid is conducive to the degradation and absorption of calcium. Therefore, the best time to supplement calcium during the day is about 1 hour after a meal.