Calcium and Magnesium

Calcium and magnesium together form the greatest part of mineral substances in the human body.

Calcium is an important building material for bones and teeth. It protects the immune system and regulates the sensitivity of nerves and muscles. It plays an important role in cell metabolism and in the way blood coagulates; it also regulates the permeability of the walls of the cells. A normal, healthy body contains about 1.5 to 2.5 kg of calcium, 99% of which is stored in the bones and the teeth.

Disturbances in the calcium balance are often caused by absorption problems in the intestines. Wrong eating habits play an important role, as do also age, sex, hormones and the consumption of alcohol and tobacco.

If the body takes in too little calcium, the deficiency is made good in the first instance by taking the calcium normally stored in the bones. Often a calcium deficiency is not noticed immediately but only after a considerable period, during which time the bone structure is progressively weakened. The bones in the hip and spine become porous and can break at a light blow caused by a fall or even undue pressure. Especially women in and after the menopause and men at an advanced age run these risks. A timely intake of calcium reduces the risk of deficiency symptoms and osteoporosis.

Magnesium improves the rate at which bones absorb calcium; it plays a role in almost every metabolic function of the body. A normal, healthy body contains about 25 g of magnesium. As calcium strengthens the bone structure, so is magnesium the energy provider for the muscles: it brings more oxygen into the body and accelerates the building of the bone structure.

Supplementing your food intake with calcium and magnesium in general is especially recommended for people from middle age onwards, for avoiding osteoporosis and decalcification at menopause, during pregnancy and when nursing, during the growing phase of childhood when developing teeth and when bones heal slower, when there is a tendency to develop allergies and to cover an increased need of calcium.

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