Calcium supplements matter
MANILA, Philippines - While there are many readily available calcium-rich food and drinks, poor eating habits make it almost impossible for some of us to meet our daily calcium requirement.
The Food and Nutrition Research Institute-Department of Science and Technology (FNRI-DOST) recommends that males and females aged 19 to 49 years old need 750 mg of calcium. This increases to 800 mg for females aged 50 to 64 years old.
"This is why supplementation is needed because of poor diet, which is rampant in our fast-paced society that promotes fast-foods," said Dr. Eliseo Banaynal, medical director of Pascual Consumer Healthcare Corp.
He added: "Plus, the practice of over-farming wherein the soil in farms are not allowed to regenerate have resulted in lower amounts of the mineral calcium finding their way into our vegetables and fruits."
Pascual Consumer Healthcare recently introduced the chewable calcium supplement, CalChews. It comes in two flavors--rich chocolate and creamy caramel--and is fortified with Vitamins D and K.
The importance of calcium in our diet can't be overemphasized enough. We are reminded of it everyday when we see television commercials of milk and health companies promoting the need for mineral.
Medical doctors, dieticians, and even our own parents would remind us to take our milk to make our bones stronger and healthier.
"Calcium is required for many important body functions such as nerve transmission, blood vessel contraction and vasodilatation, muscle function, intracellular signaling, hormonal secretion and for the proper growth of our bones and teeth where 99 percent of our calcium is stored," Dr. Banaynal said.
Yet according to the last National Nutrition Survey conducted by the FNRI-DOST, Filipinos' calcium intake is only at 44 milligrams (mg) or 57.7 percent adequate to what is recommended.
"During late adulthood, there is more calcium resorption or loss that calcium deposition or gain, thus proper diet and/or calcium supplementation is critical during this age," Dr. Banaynal said.
