Bone Health

Calcium: An Important Part of a Healthy Lifestyle: Bones and More!
Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body and is found mostly in your bones, where it gives bones strength.

The body does not produce calcium, which means that you must get it from your daily diet. That's why a diet rich in calcium is so important, particularly when bones are growing and developing. Even after full bone development, you still need an adequate calcium intake throughout your life to ensure your bones stay healthy and strong.


It's good to be dense!

1: Calcium-rich bone
A calcium-rich diet contributes to the density of bone tissue ensuring a strong and healthy skeleton.

2: Calcium-deficient bone
A calcium-poor diet is one factor that can make bones less dense and, as a result, weak and brittle.

This site is for people like you, who want to take a more active role in understanding their health, specifically the role that calcium plays in their body, the foods that contain it, and how much they need at different stages of life. If they think about it at all, many people believe they consume enough calcium when in fact they don't. Find out whether you get enough calcium from your daily diet. Use the handy references in these pages to help you and your family make calcium-rich choices.

Quick Tip:
For a fun way to check your daily calcium intake, be sure to use BC Dairy Foundation's Calcium Calculator.

For more information on this, or other nutrition related topics, please e-mail Sydney Massey, Director of Nutrition Education.

Calcium: Good for Bones and More - Why Calcium is So Important
Apart from giving strength to your bones, calcium is necessary for many body functions. Practically every cell in your body, including those in your heart, nerves and muscles, relies on calcium.

In order for your body to function properly, the level of calcium in the blood must stay relatively constant. For this to happen, you need to consume enough calcium throughout the day - otherwise, your blood will "steal" calcium from your bones to maintain the level it requires. Think of your bones as a "bank". If your diet is low in calcium, your blood "withdraws" the calcium it needs from your bones. When your diet is rich in calcium, you make "deposits" in your calcium "bank". Over time, if your withdrawals exceed your deposits, your bones can begin to weaken and become more susceptible to breaking.

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a condition characterized by calcium-depleted bones that are so porous and fragile they can easily break - even a simple hug can fracture the bone of someone afflicted with osteoporosis. 75% of individuals who fracture a bone due to osteoporosis will suffer deformities and permanent disabilities, which greatly decrease their quality of life. Osteoporosis affects one in four women and one in eight men over the age of 50.

As we age, we all lose some bone mass. Whether or not you get osteoporosis later in life depends on how big and dense your bones become during your developing years, and how much bone mass you lose after that. If you start off with bigger and denser bones and if you lose less bone mass as you get older, you will have more left in later years.

Prevention - A Program for Life
Prevention is the best approach to osteoporosis and prevention is a lifetime process; however, it's never too late to start taking care of your bones. While your genetic make-up plays a major role in determining the size and density of your bones, your lifestyle is also important. Regular physical activity and a diet rich in calcium are the best preventive measures.

Of course, there's no guarantee that an adequate calcium intake will absolutely prevent osteoporosis. If your calcium needs are not met, though, your risk of getting osteoporosis is definitely increased. Smoking and too much alcohol and caffeine also have a negative impact on bone health, especially if your calcium intake is low.


Provided you consume enough calcium, your bones will continue to grow more dense until around the age of 30. After that, calcium remains a priority, because you need to maintain your bone mass to minimize the gradual loss associated with aging. In women, loss of bone mass is accelerated after menopause. Postmenopausal women should, therefore, pay even greater attention to their calcium intake.

Active Living: It's the Way to Go
In combination with a calcium-rich diet, your bones need regular physical activity to maintain their strength. Exercise helps the body store calcium in the bones, so that the calcium you get from your diet is used more efficiently.

Activities you do on your feet, like brisk walking, skating, dancing, hiking and aerobics are ideal. Walk to the store instead of driving. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Every bit counts. Find activities that you enjoy and make active living a pleasurable part of your everyday life!

Daily Calcium Needs

Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating recommends 2-4* servings of milk products every day. Eating the recommended servings of milk products ensures you get the calcium you need every day, along with other important nutrients.

**Why the range? How many milk products you should eat depends on where you are in the life cycle.

	Children 4-9 years 2-3 servings/day
	Youth 10-16 years 3-4 servings/day
	Audlts 2-4 servings/day
	Pregnant and breast-feeding women 3-4 servings/day

One serving of milk products, as defined in Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating, contains at least 275 mg of calcium. Not all milk products contain the same amount of calcium. That's why a normal helping of some milk products might give you only 1/4 or 1/2 serving as shown below.