Calcium deficiency - the leading cause of osteoporosis and musculoskeletal diseases

The article was professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor I Vo Khac Khoi Nguyen - Department of General Surgery, Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital.

Adequate calcium intake is essential for maintaining healthy bone mineral density in the elderly. Calcium deficiency is a risk factor for osteoporosis and fractures. Calcium supplementation is often recommended for people with inadequate calcium intake or with osteoporosis to prevent deterioration in bone strength. However, a significant percentage of people worldwide are not getting the calcium they need. So we need to understand the problem of calcium supplementation properly.

Calcium is the most abundant element in the human body, of which 98-99% is concentrated in bones and teeth. The remaining 1% of calcium is in the blood and cells, but it plays a very important role in maintaining the body's functions. From this number, we also understand that measuring blood calcium levels does not reflect enough calcium in your diet or whether you need calcium supplements.
Calcium is the most important component of the skeleton. Calcium helps bones develop, improves the height and stature of children during puberty, helps maintain strong bones. Calcium also plays an important role in the muscular system, muscle contraction would not be possible without calcium. So it can be said that calcium is an indispensable element for maintaining and ensuring the body's motor system maintains the heartbeat, blood clotting, and many metabolic activities of the body.
Normally, there is still a daily amount of calcium that is excreted from the body through the digestive tract. Calcium in the skeletal system can also be degraded and excreted in the urine. When calcium is excreted by the kidneys a lot, if you lack exercise and drink less water, it is easy to get urinary stones (kidneys, bladder).

The body's calcium deficiency is often caused by two groups of causes: malnutrition (not enough calcium in the daily diet, vitamin D deficiency) or deficiency due to calcium metabolism disorders (due to hormonal disorders, aging, and lifestyle) sedentary lifestyle) - in this case, although the diet is enough calcium, the body cannot absorb it.

In the United States, the recommended daily intake of calcium is 1,200 mg for adults and 1,500 mg for the elderly. It is important to emphasize that this is the amount of elemental Calcium, not the dosage of the pill. However, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in the United States found that more than 80% of the elderly and about 43% of the general US population have diets that contain less than recommended amounts of calcium, and about 70% of American women. Elderly using calcium supplements. Daily calcium intake is also very low in East Asia and some Central American countries. In these places, the amount of calcium in the diet is only 1/5-1/3 as in European and North American countries.
Vietnam is also classified as a group of countries with dietary calcium deficiency. According to the National Institute of Nutrition, with the current Vietnamese eating pattern, consuming milk and dairy products is still low, most people's diets only reach 50-60% of the recommended calcium intake, which is about 400 -600mg calcium/day; Therefore, it is necessary to add about 500-600 mg of calcium from other sources.

Based on the above research evidence, calcium supplementation has become an indispensable issue in the treatment of osteoporosis as well as for high-risk subjects: Pre-menopausal women, the elderly. , especially in countries with low calcium diets like ours.
Calcium can be loaded into the body by daily meals through a number of foods
Seafood dishes (shrimp, crab, oysters, fish...) Dark green vegetables (lettuce, cabbage, etc.) , kale, celery...) are foods good for bone health. Vitamin K in green vegetables is a forming factor of osteocalcin, which helps to accumulate calcium in the bones. Don't ignore valuable calcium sources from milk and dairy products such as yogurt, cheese... Recent findings also show the benefits of calcium supplementation with mixed results worldwide and depending depending on the amount of calcium in the subjects' diets. In other words, calcium supplements would be of greater benefit for people in areas with low dietary calcium. Calcium supplementation is especially important in Asian countries because the number of hip fractures is increasing rapidly due to an aging population. It is estimated that by 2050, more than 1 in 2 hip fractures worldwide will occur in Asia.
From the above issues, we realize that maintaining a diet containing adequate amounts of recommended calcium is necessary for the body. If the diet is not enough calcium, we should consider taking a daily calcium supplement with the above-mentioned preparations. Calcium deficiency is one of the leading causes of musculoskeletal diseases. At Vinmec International General Hospital, the treatment of musculoskeletal diseases has been carried out with PRP (platelet-rich plasma) technology, bringing high efficiency, safety to patients and reducing the recurrence rate. Vinmec International General Hospital is a general hospital with the function of examining and treating musculoskeletal diseases such as arthritis, degeneration, hernia, joint pain,.... At Vinmec, it has also performed Current diagnosis and treatment with modern medical methods for musculoskeletal diseases not only bring high efficiency but also minimize complications of recurrence. The great success is because Vinmec is always fully equipped with modern facilities, examination and treatment procedures are carried out by a team of experienced and qualified doctors that will bring about treatment results. optimal for customers.