It is almost impossible to tell about a single mineral and its properties, without mentioning all the other minerals it interacts with! Here I still make an attempt, but remember that all nutrients work together and need each other and their co-factors to support health in the best way. Biohacking your way to a strong bone structure can, for example, mean that you take in extra magnesium - so that calcium is properly incorporated into bones and teeth.
A web of minerals
In previous blogs, we have talked about how the minerals interact with each other. The best-known example is probably magnesium's role in building calcium into the bone tissue. It is not so common to have an actual lack of calcium today. However, we can get a relative shortage depending on:
- Factors affecting calcium excretion and retention and
- How absorption via the gut works.
Skeleton and teeth
For the so-called homeostasis, the equalizing balance between substances, a certain level of calcium in the blood is always required. The skeleton is our storage for calcium. If there is too little of it in the blood, the body takes the calcium store.
Bone tissue is built up from many minerals and other substances, calcium of course but also boron, phosphorus and collagen. Vitamin C and zinc are needed for the collagen. So you need calcium for your bones, but without available magnesium to balance it, calcium can instead be stored in soft tissue, joints and arteries, causing inflammation and pain.
Teeth and jawbones are also bone tissue. Examples of factors that support calcium deposition in teeth are:
- Vitamin K2
- Vitamin D
The nervous system
Calcium ions are used as a signaling substance in the cells. Via ion channels, calcium ions are used for, among other things:
- the work of the heart
- blood coagulation ability
- breakdown of glucose
- insulin secretion.
Hormones that control and influence calcium
Calcium participates in a variety of enzyme reactions for hormones:
- Vitamin D, parathyroid glands and adrenal glands
- Estrogen and prolactin - reduce the excretion of calcium in urine.
- Increased thyroid activity can increase the loss of calcium.
When an increased need for insulin occurs, the retention of calcium in the blood increases via hormones from the parathyroid glands. Keeping your blood sugar levels at a good level (not too high) can be a way to ensure that available calcium can be used for the bone structure.
What can inhibit calcium absorption?
Medicines or certain substances in food can inhibit the absorption of calcium:
- long-term cortisone treatment
- medicines containing aluminium
- oxalates and phytates in food.
Phytates and oxalates are found in grains, in rhubarb, spinach, beets and in a variety of other vegetables, fruits and berries. If the intestine is damaged, inflamed or infected, the absorption of calcium is also disrupted.
Balance your calcium with other nutrients
Tips for balancing your calcium levels in the body and maintaining healthy bones and strong teeth:
- Limit the intake of oxalates and phytates.
- Be sure to eat foods with vitamin K2 – abundant in ghee from grass-fed butter and found in grass-fed organs , fresh or in capsules.
- If you can tolerate dairy products: brie cheese has both easily absorbable calcium and vitamin K2.
- Homemade kefir or yogurt
- Make sure you get magnesium at the same time as calcium-rich foods. Magnesium is found in green leaves and in home-cooked broths or as a supplement .
A hair mineral analysis can show how your body handles calcium in relation to other minerals.
