Most of us are increasingly aware of the need for calcium in the diet as an essential factor for our health and longevity. But we are aware that not all forms of calcium are the same? When our health doctors recommend that we go to the store and get some over the counter calcium tablets and take two a day, they are really aware of how little of the calcium is bioavailable to the cells in our bodies? Are they skilled in biochemical calcium absorption and they know how much calcium we consume in these tablet forms fattens sewer in America, and not enough to fill our body's critical need for calcium? In this short article, I will educate you just a little bit about how our calcium is absorbed and how best to get calcium important for proper metabolism and good health.
The serum calcium is closely regulated with a normal total calcium of 2,2-2,6 mmol / L (9-10.5 mg / dL) and a normal ionized calcium 1,1-1,4 mmol / L (4.5-5.6 mg / dL). The total calcium varies with the level of serum albumin, a protein that calcium is bound. The biological effect of calcium is determined by the amount of ionized calcium rather than total calcium. Ionized calcium do not vary with the albumin level, and therefore it is interesting to measure the ionized calcium in the blood when the serum albumin is not within the normal, or when a calcium disorder is suspected despite a normal total calcium level.
Calcium is a mineral that is stored in bones. Almost all the calcium in the body is stored in bone. But a small percentage (around 1%) circulates in the blood and other body fluids, or is contained in our cells. This is needed (Keeping healthy bones and teeth, blood clotting, and normal function of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system) and keep our muscles functioning) If your blood calcium level gets too high or too low can be dangerous. Have too much calcium in the blood called hypercalcemia Hypercalcemia of cancer can be a serious problem for some people. Not having enough calcium is called hypocalcemia.
Our diet provides us with calcium. The foods highest in calcium include (dairy products like eggs, milk, butter and cheese - that's where most of our calcium from green vegetables as broccoli, spinach and beans, nuts) Our bodies absorb calcium from food we eat through the lining of the intestine. Calcium is broken down before it is stored in the bones. The body controls the amount of calcium in the blood very carefully. When blood calcium fall too low, the bones release calcium in the blood. The amount of calcium absorbed from food in the intestine also increases. And the kidneys to get rid of the less calcium in the urine. If blood calcium levels get too high, the opposite happens.
There are 3 hormones in the body that plays an important role in this complex control system. These are (of parathyroid hormone (PTH) - of prathyroid glands, vitamin D, calcitonin
These hormones help to keep the right balance of calcium in the blood.
If this balance is upset, the amount of calcium in the blood gets too high (hypercalcemia) and cause serious problems.The main causes of hypercalcemia are (too much calcium leaking from bone to blood, your kidneys are not able to get rid of excess calcium and taking in too much calcium from food we eat)
What Helps Your Body With Calcium Absorption?
1. Your body needs stomach acid for good absorption of calcium. If you have ever had heartburn or indigestion, you know what we mean by "stomach acid. When you eat, fill your stomach with strong acids to break down food. These acids are essential for calcium absorption.
2. Calcium absorption is not as effective if you have a vitamin deficiency. Vitamin D is important for the body's absorption of calcium, and researchers have shown that if you do not get enough vitamin D in your diet, you can get osteoporosis.
Calcium absorption is the amount the body from the gastrointestinal tract into the body's circulation. Calcium absorption may be affected by the body's status of calcium and vitamin D, age, pregnancy and plant substances in your diet.
The amount of calcium consumed at one time can also affect absorption. In other words, calcium absorption decreases when the amount of calcium increases the consumption of a meal. Thus the spread of consumption of calcium throughout your day is best.
Other factors play important roles in calcium absorption are:
Age: Net calcium absorption can be as high as 60% in infants and young children, when the body needs calcium to build strong bones. Absorption decreases slowly to 15-20% in adulthood and even more as one ages. Since calcium absorption decreases with age, recommendations for intake of calcium is higher for adults aged 51 and over.
Vitamin D improves absorption of calcium. Your body can obtain vitamin D from food and it can also make vitamin D when skin is exposed to sunlight. Accordingly, sufficient intake of vitamin D from food and the sun is important.
Fiber, particularly from wheat bran, can also prevent calcium absorption because of its content of phytate. By contrast, the effect of fiber on calcium absorption is more of a problem for people with low calcium intake. The average American tends to consume less fiber per day than the level that would be needed to affect calcium absorption.
Calcium excretion refers to the amount of calcium excreted from the body in urine, faeces and sweat. Calcium in the urine can be affected by many factors:
• Typically, dietary sodium and protein increase calcium excretion as the amount of intake increased. But if a high-protein, high sodium food also contains calcium, this may help to offset the loss of calcium. • Increase dietary intake of potassium in the presence of a high sodium diet can contribute to decreased excretion of calcium, especially in postmenopausal women. Or reduce the intake of sodium. • Caffeine has a small effect on calcium absorption. • Alcohol can affect calcium status by reducing the gut.
Effector organs
Sources
Approximately 25 mmol of calcium in the body of a normal diet. It may be less if the diet is low in milk and milk products or other calcium-containing foods (such as some form of fish, or calcium-rich water, calcium of leafy green vegetables is poorly absorbed). Ofthis, approximately 40% (10 mmol) absorbed in the intestine, and 5 mmol leaves the body with feces, netting 5 mmol calcium per day.
Excretion
The kidney excretes 250 mmol a day in the pro-urine, and resorbs 245 mmol, leading to a net loss in the urine of 5 mmol / l. In addition, the kidney processes vitamin D ofcalcitriol, the active form that is most effective in helping the gut . Both processes are stimulated by parathyroid hormone.
Role of bone
The calcium flow into and out of the bone is neutral, is about 5 mmol opted for a day. Ben serves as an important storage site for calcium, because it contains 99% of total body calcium. Calcium release from bone is regulated by parathyroid hormone. Calcitonin stimulates the introduction of calcium in bones, although this process is largely independent of calcitonin. Low calcium intake may also be a risk factor for developing osteoporosis. In a meta-analysis, the authors found that only two of the 52 studies they reviewed showed that calcium intake does not promote a better balance of bone. With a better balance of bone, the risk of osteoporosis is reduced.
Interaction with other chemicals
Potential positive interactions
• Vitamin D is an important co-factor in the intestinal absorption of calcium, because it increases the number of calcium channel proteins involved in calcium absorption through the apical membrane of enterocytes in the small intestine. It also promotes re-absorption of calcium in the kidneys. • Boron
Potential negative interactions
Sodium, Phytic acid, Oxalic acid, Caffeine, Cortisol.
Low pH food and proteins (the latter promotes gastric acid)
Regulatory organs
Mainly calcium-regulated by action of 1,25-OH vitamin D3, parathyroid hormone and calcitonin and direct exchange with bone. Plasma calcium levels are regulated by hormonal and non-hormonal mechanisms. After ingestion of large amounts of calcium, such as in a glass of milk, the short-term control to prevent the added calcium in serum is absorption of bone tissue. After about an hour, PTH is released and not peak for about 8 hours. The PTH, over time, a highly potent regulator of plasma calcium, and govern the conversion of vitamin D to its active form in the kidneys. Parathyroid glands behind the thyroid gland and produce parathyroid hormone in response to low calcium levels.
The parafollicular cells in the thyroid produce calcitonin in response to high calcium levels, but its significance is much smaller than that of PTH.
Pathology
Hypocalcemia and hypercalcemia are both serious medical problems.
Renal osteodystrophy is a consequence of chronic renal failure associated with calcium metabolism.
Osteoporosis and osteomalacia have been linked to calcium metabolism disorders.
Hypercalcaemia
Hypercalcemia is a disease that most often due to malignancy or primary hyperparathyroidism. Other causes of elevated calcium are less common and usually not considered until malignancy and parathyroid disease excluded.
Hypercalcemic crisis is not a precise definition, but marked elevation of serum calcium, usually more than 14 mg / dL, is associated with acute signs and symptoms of hypercalcemia. Treatment of elevated calcium in the blood can resolve the crisis.
The reference number of serum calcium is 8,7-10,4 mg / dL, with slightly higher among children. Approximately 40% of calcium is bound to proteins, primarily albumin, while 50% are ionized and physiologically active form. The remaining 10% being complexed with anions.
Why people with cancer get hypercalcaemia
Between 10 and 20 of 100 patients with cancer (10 to 20%) developed hypercalcemia. This occurs most often in advanced stages of cancer but it can happen in people with earlier stages. Cancer makes calcium leak into the blood from your legs, so that levels in the blood becomes too high. Cancer can also affect the amount of calcium that your kidneys can get rid of. If you have second leg Aries, damaged areas of bone can release calcium in the blood. Dehydration from being sick a lot or have diarrhea also can increase calcium levels. It is very important that you do something about it. If left untreated, hypercalcemia can make you more and more drowsy until you sleep most of the time. If you are still not treated, can you go into a coma and eventually die. The cancers most commonly associated with hypercalcemia are Multiple myeloma - nearly half of all people with myeloma have hypercalcemia at some point during their illness, breast cancer, squamous cell lung cancer, kidney cancer, head and neck cancer, prostate cancer. Although uncommon, hypercalcemia can affect people with other cancers.
Symptoms of hypercalcaemia
It is not always easy for a doctor to discover that you have hypercalcemia. You may not have any specific symptoms. It may be that you just feel unwell or a bit "off color". And the degree of symptoms does not always match up to calcium in the blood. People with a slightly high calcium level can be very severe symptoms, and people with a very high calcium level may have only mild symptoms. Many of the symptoms are common in the advanced stages of cancer, even among people who do not have hypercalcemia.
If hypercalcaemia is not treated when symptoms become much worse and can include (Feeling and nausea, sleepiness, Passing large amounts of urine, Feeling very thirsty, dehydration, confusion, agitation, muscle cramps, tremors. Bone pain and weakness, irregular heartbeat, difficulty in thinking and talking clearly, coma and ultimately death if not treated) Since calcium plays a role in the normal function of the brain and spinal cord, patients with severe hypercalcemia may also (Do fit, unable to coordinate muscle movements, which may affect walking, talking and eating, changes in personality, hallucinations Have)
Diagnosing hypercalcaemia
If you have any of the symptoms of hypercalcemia your doctor will want to examine you and measure your calcium levels with a blood test. You may also have other tests and studies to see how well your kidneys are working. If the test shows you have high levels of calcium in the blood, you will need treatment. Until your doctor can manage your hypercalcaemia they will need to ask a lot of questions about the story of your illness and your symptoms. It can also be a lot to deal with if you do not feel well at the time. You may just want the doctor to give you something to relieve your symptoms and leave you alone. But it is very important that your doctor take the time to assess all aspects of your condition so that you get the right diagnosis and treatment.
Preventing hypercalcaemia
If you have a type of cancer that is likely to cause hypercalcaemia, then maybe you can help prevent or at least make sure your doctor looks at the earliest. Recognize the symptoms of hypercalcemia is very important so that you can ask your doctor for help as soon as possible. Drink plenty of fluids and stay as active as possible can help prevent hypercalcemia.
Treating hypercalcaemia
The main aims of treatment are to hypercalcemia (Reduce calcium in the blood, alleviating the symptoms), you will need treatment from your specialist. You may need to spend a day or two in the hospital to get your calcium levels down. The main treatment for high calcium levels are liquids, bisphosphonates and Calcitonin
liquids (Liquids through a drip to help flush the extra calcium out of your system.drink plenty of fluids also helps if you can handle it.)
Bisphosphonates (Bisphosphonates (bis-FOS-Fon-RAR) are very effective drugs to help get your calcium levels down. You need to have some of these drugs via a drip into a vein, while others come as tablets. What you need depends on how high your calcium levels.)
Calcitonin (Calcitonin is another medication that you may need to help stop the degradation of bone. You have the drug by injection. You can also have drugs to relieve symptoms of hypercalcemia such as disease, constipation, pain or confusion. Research is ongoing into to use other drugs to treat hypercalcemia.
Hypocalcaemia
Why people with cancer get low blood calcium
Hypocalcemia: a low blood calcium levels. It is rare in people with cancer. It may be a temporary effect of some cancer drugs such as cisplatin and doxorubicin. But it happens mainly if you have removed the parathyroid glands in the neck, or if they are damaged during thyroid surgery. It affects between 18 and 36 100 people (18 to 36%). Parathyroid glands can also be damaged during other types of surgery in head and neck. After the head and neck surgery, you can always have a low calcium content, or they can go back to normal after a few months. Parathyroid glands help to maintain a constant level of calcium in the blood. We have 4 parathyroid glands in the base of our necks. They are small and close to the thyroid. The location of the glands making it difficult for a surgeon to remove the thyroid gland without damaging or removing the parathyroid glands during surgery. Parathyroid glands make parathyroid hormone (PTH). Normally, when the level of calcium in the blood drops, the parathyroid glands make more PTH. This increases the amount of calcium in the blood by (Bones release calcium in the blood, kidneys take more calcium back into the blood when the urine is made, the intestines absorb more calcium from food)
Symptoms of low blood calcium
Many people do not have any symptoms when their calcium is low. After surgery for thyroid cancer, your surgeon will check your blood calcium levels before you leave hospital. You will also have regular checks and these include blood tests to check your calcium levels. So your doctor may tell you that you have hypocalcemia before you have any symptoms.
Symptoms of hypocalcaemia include
Painful muscle spasms and cramps, twitching of muscles, numbness or tingling in the feet and hands, numbness or tingling around the mouth. If hypocalcemia is not found and treated, you can have more serious symptoms, such as (depression, dry skin, itching, seizures (convulsions) - this is very rare)
Treatment for low blood calcium
If your blood calcium levels are low, your doctor will prescribe calcium and vitamin D tablets for you. This is usually calcium in the blood at a normal level. Eating foods rich in calcium may also help. If you start to experience symptoms of hypocalcemia after head and neck surgery, you must have calcium directly into the bloodstream through a drip (intravenous infusion).
