Hydroxyapatite: a complex of calcium and phosphorus in bone

Bone is a living tissue that changes in response to physical stresses. Bone also encases the marrow, the source of many types of blood and immune cells, and it serves as the reserve note for minerals such a calcium and phosphorus.

When bones first develop, protein forms sort of scaffolding that filled in with the minerals calcium and phosphorus. Calcium and phosphorus are what bones hard and unlikely to break. While the collagen fibers to provide strength and flexibility.

Most of the calcium in bone is in the form of hydroxyapatite - a crystalline mineral complex of calcium and phosphorus.

Hydroxyapatite is the most important among the calcium compounds since it is found in natural hard tissues as mineral phase. Hydroxyapatite acts as reinforcement in hard tissues and is responsible for the stiffness of bone, dentin and enamel.
Hydroxyapatite: a complex of calcium and phosphorus in bone 

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Calcium-rich herbs

Herbs have been used successfully for centuries to eases the hormone imbalance and discomfort of stretching, bloating, nausea and pain of pregnancy, without impairing the development or health of the baby.

Research indicates calcium may promote weight loss. Studies have found that higher calcium intakes are related to lower fat and body weight on both adults and children, as well as to reduced weight gain in midlife.

Herbs are concentrated mineral rich foods that perfect for the extra growth requirements of pregnancy and childbirth.

There are many herbs that are exceptionally high in calcium, such as nettle, comfrey, boneset, raspberry leaf, fennel seeds, sesame seeds, borage, oat straw, horsetail, watercress, seaweed, lambs, quarter, sage, red clover, amaranth.

These, along with calcium-rich foods should be incorporated into daily diet.
Calcium-rich herbs

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The importance of calcium in human body

Calcium is a divalent cation and is the most abundant mineral in the human body. Calcium quantity to be found in an adult’s body is approx 1, 5 kilos. It accounts for roughly 40% of total mineral mass and about 1,5% of total body mass. Calcium is a very potent mineral, fulfilling different tasks in human bodies.

Calcium plays an important role in many biological processes. The most important of its functions relate to: mineralization of the bone tissue (bones and teeth), maintaining the cardiac rhythm, coagulating the blood, regulating the acid-basic equilibrium.

Calcium intake is very beneficial for patients that suffer from acute or chronic convulsions, osteoporosis, concentration disorders, headaches, allergies etc.

Parathyroid hormone restores blood calcium in one of several ways. It can increased the amount of calcium absorbed in the small intestine. It can also stimulate bone destruction.

Calcium levels are also influenced by vitamin D. Vitamin D is available in some foods and also produced in skin when it is exposed to sunlight.

Calcium deficiency leads to anemia, osteoporosis, dental cavities, irregular menses, severe headaches, sexual problems, emotional disorders, sleep disorders (insomnia) and many other dysfunctions.

Calcium nutrition has become a concern for many individuals because of the increased incidence of osteoporosis as human life expectancy continues to increase.

Nutritionally, calcium is found in many foods, but the major spruce in most human diets is dairy products.

In milk, a predominant class of protein is the caseins. Its function is to solubulize calcium phosphate micrograules by surrounding them in a micellar structure, providing an important mineral nutrient in liquid form.
The importance of calcium in human body

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Calcium in diets

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the human body. Over 99 percent of total body calcium is found as calcium hydroxyapatite in bones and teeth.

It is an essential nutrient required for important biological functions including nerve conduction, muscle contraction, cell adhesives, mitosis, blood coagulation, heart beat regulation, stimulation of hormone secretion and building and maintaining healthy bones and teeth and structural support for the skeleton.

In the past, early humans obtained calcium though the consumption of a wide variety of plant species. Cereal grains are the fruit of the plant, which is the part of them that accumulates the least amount of calcium.

Since the agriculture revolution, the maim food source of calcium in the diet of most population is dairy products. It is classically associated with diary products: milk, yoghurt and cheese are rich sources of calcium, providing the major share of calcium from foods in the general diet in the United States and Canada.

Other good sources of calcium include sardines, oysters, clams, tofu, molasses, almonds, calcium-fortified foods, and dark green leafy vegetables such as broccoli kale, collards and mustard and turnip greens. Other vegetables such as spinach, rhubarb, card and beets greens contain respectable amounts of calcium.

Several factors that may decrease the absorption of calcium include the presence of oxalate, phytate, fibers in foods.

A diet that is high in protein, fat and/or sugar affects calcium uptake. The average American diets of meats, refined grains, and soft drinks leads to increase excretion of calcium. Diets high in animals protein necessitate higher intakes of calcium as well, because such diets promote calcium excretion.

Calcium is absorbed by active transport and passive diffusion across the intestinal mucosa. Passive diffusion becomes more important at high calcium intakes.

In general, balanced diets provide from 800 to 1,200 of calcium per day. The minimum daily requirements of calcium is 400 to 500 mg and an intake below this amount may cause a negative calcium balance.
Calcium in diets

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Calcium – function and deficiency

Physical Function 

Structural component of bones and teeth; role in intracellular and hormonal secretion regulation, muscle contraction, and activation of some enzyme systems.

Calcium is maintained relatively high concentration in the blood and extracellular fluids, where it is needed to facilitate such functions as blood coagulation and intercellular communications.

The calcium in bones serves as a reservoir for calcium that is needed throughout the body. Bones and teeth contain more than 99 percent of the body’s calcium.

Calcium also is the key factor in normal transmission of nerve impulses. The movement of calcium into nerve cells triggers the release of neurotransmitter at the junction between nerves.

Calcium is a key component of the cell membrane and controls cell permeability and electrical properties.

Deficiency symptoms 

A low calcium intake during the growing years limits the bones’ ability to reach their optimal mass and density.

The symptoms of calcium deficiency includes rickets, osteomalacia, osteoporosis, scurvy, tetany, parathyroid hyperplasia, stunted growth, laryngospasm.

Deficiency of calcium in young girls causes late puberty, irregular menstruation, excessive bleeding with crampy pain during this period, anemia and lowered state of body resistance against infection.

Food sources 

Food sources of calcium include milk, milk products, sardines, clams, oysters, turnip greens, broccoli, legumes and dried fruits.

Calcium is classically associated with dairy products: milk, yoghurt and cheeses are rich sources of calcium, providing the major share of calcium from foods in the general diet in the United States and Canada.

When substantial amounts of grains are consumed, for like breads or as maize, these can be important sources, although the calcium in cereals tends to be less bioavailable than that in dairy products.

Calcium – function and deficiency

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The importance of calcium in the body

Calcium is the most abundant cation of the human body, averaging approximately 1 kg in a 70 kg man.

The human body requires more calcium than any other mineral. The adult human body contains about 1,000 to 1,200 mg of calcium, with at least 99 percent of the calcium found in bones and teeth, giving them strength and rigidity.

The 1% of the body’s calcium is distributed between the extracellular fluids and various soft tissues, perpetuating life by promoting normal muscle contraction, nerve transmission and a regular heartbeat.

Calcium is ingested in the form of relatively insoluble salts, whether the source is food or dietary supplements.

They are many ways to get enough calcium into the diet, including dairy products and dark green vegetables that are naturally rich in calcium. Other foods, such as cereals, juices, breads and tofu, can be fortified with calcium.

Because the mineral is absorbed only in the ionized form, it must first be released from these salts; therefore bioavailability of calcium from its various sources assumes much important in calcium nutriture.

The efficiency with which calcium is absorbed from a particular source is only one of the factors involved in the availability of the mineral to the body.

Getting enough calcium from food or supplements is essential because the human body doesn’t produce it.

If the body don’t get enough calcium in the diet, the body withdraws the mineral from bones to keep blood calcium concentration within a healthy range.

Removing calcium from bones for use in the rest of the body weakens existing bone. It also prevents the formation of new strong bone.

The human body absorbs calcium most efficiently in amounts of 500 mg or less.

A greater absorption does not necessarily mean greater retention. Sometimes increased absorption of calcium is offset by its increased excretion in the urine or digestive juice.

Calcium economy in the body is very complex, being influenced not only by exogenous factors but also by endogenous conditions.
The importance of calcium in the body

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