Calcium

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests

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• Related Issues
• Specifics
• Genetics

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• Health Check Tools

Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

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For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

You have more calcium in your body than any other mineral. Calcium has many important jobs. The body stores more than 99% of its calcium in the bones and teeth to help make and keep them strong. The rest is throughout the body in blood, muscle and the fluid between cells. Your body needs calcium to help muscles and blood vessels contract and expand, to secrete hormones and enzymes and to send messages through the nervous system.

It is important to get plenty of calcium in the foods you eat. Foods rich in calcium include:

• Dairy products such as milk, cheese, and yogurt
• Leafy, green vegetables
• Fish with soft bones that you eat, such as canned sardines and salmon
• Calcium-enriched foods such as breakfast cereals, fruit juices, soy and rice drinks, and tofu. Check the product labels.

The exact amount of calcium you need depends on your age and other factors. Growing children and teenagers need more calcium than young adults. Older women need plenty of calcium to prevent osteoporosis. People who do not eat enough high-calcium foods should take a calcium supplement.

NIH: National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements

Start Here

• Calcium (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements) Also in Spanish
• Calcium and Vitamin D (Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Calcium Blood Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Calcium in Urine Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Calcium and Calcium Supplements: Achieving the Right Balance (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Calcium and Vitamin D: Important for Bone Health (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) Also in Spanish
• Calcium Supplements: A Risk Factor for Heart Attack? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Hypercalcemia (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)

Genetics

• Idiopathic infantile hypercalcemia: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Health Check Tools

• Calcium Calculator (International Osteoporosis Foundation)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Calcium, Dietary (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Hypercalcemia (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Hypocalcemia (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: The Relationship between Dietary Calcium and Age-Related Macular Degeneration.
• Article: Bone Strength of the Calcaneus Is Associated with Dietary Calcium Intake...
• Article: Dietary calcium intake in Brazilian preschoolers and schoolchhildren: review of the...
• Calcium -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Also in Spanish
• Food and Nutrition Information Center
• National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Also in Spanish
• National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements

Children

• Calcium and Your Child (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Kids and Their Bones (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) Also in Spanish
• Low Calcium in Babies (Hypocalcemia) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Calcium in diet (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Calcium supplements (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Calcium, vitamin D, and your bones (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Hypercalcemia - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish