Childhood can be considered as the critical period for bone growth. By remodeling process, old bones will break down and new ones will be built. To make the bones stronger, children should consume large amount of calcium in their daily food. This is because, bone mass will increase only when there is an increase in calcium deposition in bone. Once the bone mass attains its peak, the bones will get the maximum strength. The growth of bone mass will occur till the age of 30. But the majority of growth will occur during childhood and after that the growth rate will slow down. Hence consuming adequate calcium in childhood will help to get good bone mass.
How much calcium is needed per day?
As per the academy of sciences, the amount of calcium intake for children in the age group of 4-8 is 800 mg per day and 9-18 is 1300 mg of calcium is required per day. It is very essential to keep the bones of children very strong and Calcium helps to achieve this. This will also help to avoid illness of bone in future.
Why calcium is important?
Also for developing strong teeth, calcium is important. Apart from this, calcium plays an important role in metabolism too. The rate of metabolism will increase with increase in calcium consumption. So intake of calcium will promote the metabolism in children. Calcium is very much needed for coagulation of blood. There are many chances of getting healed during childhood. Calcium helps for blood clotting and thus helps in preventing more blood loss.
What if a child doesn’t have enough Calcium?
The diet habits followed in childhood will help to protect the body against several diseases in the old age. Lack of calcium will cause osteoporosis and bone loss later in life. Osteoporosis is a disease that occurs due to loss of bone density. This will make the bone easy to break. For the normal contraction of muscles calcium is very essential. It is essential for building strong nervous system in childhood.
Calcium is responsible for communication between brain and other parts of the body. Deficiency of calcium can result in high blood pressure. Colon cancer can be prevented if adequate calcium is consumed. Excessive cell growth in the intestines which will lead to colon cancer is prevented by calcium.
Sources of Calcium
The best sources of calcium are milk, yoghurt, cheese, cereals, leafy green vegetables and orange juice.
As your child grows and develops, Calcium is the most abundant mineral found in their body, with 99% of the total calcium being found in the bones and teeth. For optimum absorption and utilization studies suggest Calcium should be combined with Magnesium, Vitamin D and Zinc. These nutrients help support and establish the very foundation for your child’s structural growth and integrity.
ChildLife’s Liquid Calcium with Magnesium provides these two essential minerals combined with Vitamin D and Zinc in a balanced, absorbable, great tasting formula. These are the primary nutrients required for supporting your child’s healthy bone growth and development.