Serum calcium results, dietary intake and bone health
Calcium is a critical mineral required for normal body functions including energy production, cell proliferation and apoptosis, hormone secretion, nerve conduction, muscle contraction, coagulation, and of course, healthy teeth and bones.
Ninety nine percent of calcium is found within the skeleton, with only 1% in soft tissues. This means that serum calcium is not an accurate measure of total body calcium stores and should not be used to assess the adequacy or not of dietary calcium intake.
While it’s clear calcium is vital for bone health, increasing dietary intake won’t improve bone mineralisation unless bone stores are deficient and vitamin D is adequate.
The message that ‘calcium rich foods improve bone health’ is too simplistic.
Dietary calcium intake is one factor, but dietary calcium absorption is also relevant. A healthy, diverse gut microbiome can increase absorption, while chronic inflammatory gut conditions are thought to be associated with reduced calcium absorption.*
Education in Nutrition have presentations which help explain the concepts of calcium balance, bone health and the latest management of osteoporosis.
1. Calcium balance by Dr Marcela Nascimento MD, MAACB
A review of the presentation is here
2. Bone health and density by Professor Laura McCabe
A review of the presentation is here
3. Osteoporosis by Professor Belinda Beck
A review of the presentation is here
* whether this is related to reduced gut absorption, or changes to systemic calcium metabolism, is unclear.