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Along with playing an essential role in the formation of bones
and teeth, calcium is intimately involved in with many other vital
body functions. It is essential to the transmission of nerve
messages, the proper function of muscles including the heart, the
activation of certain enzymes for digestion, the nourishment of
cells, and the release of energy.
A debate has raged for
decades among nutritional experts as to which form of calcium is
beter absorbed by the human body. Now, study conducted by the
Southwestern Medical Center at the University of Texas recently
reported that calcium citrate has an absorbtion rate 2.5 faster than
cacium carbonate when both types were combined with Vitamin D and
Boron.
According to 'The Doctor's Vitamin and Mineral
Encyclopedia" (Simon & Schuster, 1990) by Sheldon Hendler, M.D.,
Ph.D., calcium in the form of calcium citrate does not require
stomach hydrochloric acid for absorption. This means that it is more
readily absorbed and utilized by the body and can also be taken on
an empty stomach.
Calcium citrate never leads to the
formation of calcium kidney stones.
Another unique advantage
that comes with taking calcium citrate is that unlike other forms of
calcium, it never blocks iron absorption.
Additional
Benefits of Calcium
The blood uses calcium for so
many functions that if there is a dietary deficiency of calcium, and
therefore a decreased amount of calcium in the bloodstream, the body
pulls the calcium it needs from the bones. This, in addition to the
natural mineral loss, causes the bones to weaken and be dangerously
susceptible to fractures, a serious condition termed osteoporosis.
Other symptoms of calcium deficiency are muscle cramps, nervousness,
increased cholesterol levels, insomnia, and numbness in and/or
legs.
In 1994, the National Institute of Health reported that
Recommended Daily Allowance, 800 mg, for calcium is too low, and
that half of American adults are not getting enough calcium on a
daily basis. They (NIH) recommend a dosage between 1,000 and 1,500
mg daily. Calcium expert Robert Heaney, M.D., of Creighton
University believes that women need 1,500 mg of calcium a day-almost
double the RDA. The average American diet fails to provide half of
that amount.
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