Calcium is an indispensable mineral for everyone's health. Calcium is responsible for vital functions in the body and works with other nutrients like vitamin D, therefore, women should be proactive about getting adequate calcium throughout their life to ensure their bone density increases.

In fact, women as young as their 20s are recommended to increase their calcium, and women lose bone mass in later years, having a high-quality calcium supplement will make a big difference because it will pre-empt a lot of these problems.

Calcium plays a major role in preventing osteoporosis, helping to avoid PMS, but it can also play a major role in weight management and weight loss, because calcium binds with fat in the intestine, preventing the body from absorbing it and inhibiting the production of hormones that cause fat to accumulate in the body. 

Additionally, calcium can prevent skin damage. White spots on the face of the skin are due to a deficiency in calcium, and a diet rich in calcium or calcium supplements can increase the natural glow in the skin, while also aiding skin repair.

Why Is Calcium Important for Women?

While calcium is a vital nutrient for everyone, it is particularly important for women. Calcium plays a major role in a number of aspects of women's health, particularly because women have a lower bone density than men. Women have thinner and smaller bones than men, and due to the structural differences, women need more calcium than men to maintain their bone density. 

Additionally, women go through a variety of hormonal changes throughout many parts of their lives, such as pregnancy, if they are breastfeeding, menopause, and the menstrual cycle. Each of these hormonal changes in the body involves many nutrients being pulled out of the body, which means that each of these fluctuations impacts the body’s ability to hold onto calcium. 

The reason behind this is due to the decline in the hormone estrogen. When estrogen levels fall in the body, we are not able to retain our calcium sources. Women with a poor intake of dietary calcium will react against the hormones estrogen and progesterone. In premenstrual women, maintaining an optimum calcium level is vital, especially in younger women with have premenstrual symptoms.

The Easy Ways To Increase Your Calcium Intake

No matter who you are, it is important to have optimum levels of calcium in your body as it is such an important mineral for overall health. Here are some habits that everybody can benefit from to ensure that they hit their optimum levels of calcium.

Drink More Milk

Many people were encouraged to drink more milk as a child and it is something that can still help you as you get older. Just one glass of milk will contain 300 mg of calcium and is an incredibly diverse foodstuff. If you don't like drinking milk, you can put it in cereals, soups, smoothies, or even in your scrambled eggs. If you do not like milk there are a wide variety of calcium-rich milk alternatives on the market. There are many plant-based drinks that are fortified with calcium, as well as numerous oat milk, and almond milk, which can contain up to 450 mg of calcium with each serving.

Spread Your Calcium Intake Throughout the Day

Many people made try to get all the calcium within one meal, but larger doses are not absorbed as effectively. Doses less than 500 mg are better absorbed, so opting to have a 450 mg serving three times a day means you will have more calcium uptake in your body. When you eat good sources of calcium spread throughout the day, this is going to improve your overall calcium absorption. 

Find Non-Dairy Sources

Calcium is not just present in dairy, but there are a wide variety of non-dairy sources of calcium. These include the following:

• Pulses, such as beans and lentils. One cup of beans can contain almost 150 mg of calcium.
• Leafy greens. swiss chard, spinach, kale, and collard greens can contain between 150 mg to 250 mg of calcium with every cooked cup.
• Certain fish. Fish such as salmon and sardines are full of calcium because of their edible bones. For example: 3 oz. of salmon has approximately 180 mg of calcium and is high in protein, which is vital to help women maintain their bone density.

Choose a Calcium Supplement

If you do not like calcium sources, whether it is soya milk or green leafy vegetables, you can choose a calcium supplement. You may want to consider a calcium supplement if you have any of the following issues:

• Digestive issues that decrease you ability to absorb calcium such as coeliac disease or inflammatory bowel disease.
• Receiving long-term treatment with corticosteroids.
• Are consuming large amounts of sodium or protein, which may cause your body to excrete more calcium.
• Are lactose intolerant and need to limit dairy products.
• On a vegan diet.

In these situations, calcium supplements can help you to meet your requirements. The benefit of having a calcium supplement can also contain vitamin D or magnesium. Vitamin D is particularly useful as it can help your body absorb calcium more effectively. Without enough vitamin D, we cannot form calcitriol in our bodies, which is also known as the “active vitamin D.” Therefore, having a high quality supplement with vitamin D or ensuring you take vitamin D alongside your calcium can ensure your body is absorbing it properly.