Smart babies have the concept of "calcium". As we all know, drinking milk is a good choice to supplement calcium. But maybe you don't know, besides strengthening bones, what other important functions does calcium have for the human body? The function of calcium: 99% of calcium absorbed by human body will be used to build strong bones and teeth, and the rest 1% of calcium will be used to maintain the normal operation of nerve conduction, muscle contraction and electrolyte balance. When calcium, magnesium and potassium are unbalanced, people are prone to cramps. Appropriate calcium supplementation can also prevent cramps! Therefore, the function of "calcium" is not only to prevent osteoporosis as we generally know, but also plays an important role in maintaining the normal operation of the body. Calcium deficiency crisis For children, the biggest crisis of calcium deficiency is that it will affect the health of bones and teeth, and it will also lead to the dysplasia of muscles and nerves, and the associated electrolyte imbalance will also appear. By the way, calcium can stabilize nerves, and people who are stressed or can't sleep well can also supplement calcium appropriately to improve. It can be seen that calcium deficiency will have many effects on people's body and mind. Healthy babies need calcium and iron supplements at an interval of more than one hour, so that the antagonism between calcium and iron will not hinder each other's absorption. The absorption rate of calcium for infants is the highest in their whole lives ── it can reach about 60%, and then it will gradually decline until they reach puberty and rise again. In fact, we can find that the demand rate of calcium will increase greatly when the human body needs to grow taller and stronger. For example, women during lactation have to supply more nutrients to their babies, so the demand for calcium will also increase. Whether it is a baby who is still drinking formula milk or breast milk, or a child who has started to add non-staple food, or even a child who can eat solid food, calcium supplementation can not be ignored. For children of different ages, the daily calcium quality is of course different: (1)0 to 2 months: 1 day. (2)3 to 5 months: 1 day 300 mg. (3)6 to 1 1 month: 1 day 400 mg. (4) 1 year to 3 years old: 1 day 500 mg. (5)4 to 6 years old: 1 day 600 mg. Then, will too much calcium intake do harm to the body? In this regard, Liu Yili, a nutritionist at Tai 'an Hospital, told us that each person can get a certain amount of calcium absorption per meal every day, so parents don't have to worry too much about the problem of excessive calcium intake, because the calcium intake of ordinary people is obviously insufficient, just pay attention to the interval between calcium and iron supplementation for more than one hour, so as not to hinder each other's absorption because of the antagonistic effect between calcium and iron. Calcium demand of adults and pregnant mothers: A national nutrition survey conducted by the Department of Health of the Executive Yuan found that the calcium intake of adult Chinese is obviously lower than the recommended value of 1 day 1000 mg-only about 400 to 500 mg per day, which is not immediately harmful, but it is already in a state of deficiency. The calcium requirement of pregnant mommy 1 day is1200mg, which is 200 mg more than that of adults, because mommy must provide enough calcium for her children to help the development of the fetus. Pregnant moms with cramps suggest that calcium intake must be sufficient to reduce the incidence of cramps. What! Is it true?/You don't say. Rumor 1 Too much milk will lose calcium. There used to be a saying that too much protein will affect the absorption of calcium, but later research results have subverted this concept; A few years ago, the United States and Britain, the two countries with the largest consumption of dairy products, were also the most serious and common areas of osteoporosis. The news spread like wildfire that drinking too much milk would lose calcium, which really made the people who rely on milk to supplement calcium a little nervous. Liu Yili, a nutritionist, said that the food culture of each country is different, so the research results will of course be different. Westerners are deeply influenced by fast food, and it is easy to lose calcium when exposed to too much high-fat and high-salt food. In addition, phosphoric acid in soda will affect the absorption of calcium, resulting in a high proportion of osteoporosis in Westerners. Proverbs 2 10 cup of soybean milk is equal to 1 cup of milk's calcium. We often start the day with milk or soybean milk, but soybean milk needs to drink many cups to reach half of the recommended daily calcium content of adults (about 500 mg of calcium), but only two cups of milk is enough to reach half of the recommended value. It can be seen that there is a gap between the calcium content of soybean milk and milk. However, there is no doubt that soybean itself has high nutritional value, and some adults or children can only choose to drink vegetable milk "soybean milk" instead of animal milk "milk" because of their long-term vegetarian diet, so this comparison is actually inconsistent! In addition, there are a group of people who are lactose intolerant. When they drink milk, they will have diarrhea but want to strengthen calcium supplement. At this time, nutritionists will suggest that plant bean products have calcium but no cholesterol, which is also a very good healthy choice. In fact, there are many sources of plant calcium, such as dried beans, tofu, dark green vegetables, nuts, etc. Therefore, drinking soybean milk is not the only way for vegetarians to supplement calcium. No matter what their eating habits are, please let children develop a good eating habit of not being picky about food from an early age, and take in nutrients from various sources. Calcium and nutrition are sufficient, and children naturally have strong heads! Myth 3 carbonated drinks will affect the absorption of calcium. Human bones are mainly composed of calcium and phosphorus. These minerals provide a solid capital for bones and make our bodies strong. Carbonated drinks contain a lot of phosphorus, and phosphorus will occupy the original position of calcium in the human body. Therefore, drinking a large number of drinks containing phosphoric acid for a long time when calcium is not enough will naturally affect the development of children's bones and teeth, and it is also one of the reasons for adult osteoporosis. The difference between mineral V.S. and trace elements: the terms "huge mineral" and "trace mineral" are often heard! But where is the difference between them? The huge minerals that are often mentioned are calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, etc. Trace minerals refer to iron, iodine, chromium, etc., which are less needed by the human body. Although the required amount is small, it is very important, as long as a little bit is enough to meet the needs of the human body! Build a good baby's backbone. Milk and small fish have calcium. As mentioned above, we all know that milk is the best source of calcium supplement. 1 cup of milk at 240c.c contains about 250mg of calcium, which is close to the daily needs of children. As long as the nutrition is sufficient and balanced, the rest of the calcium needs can be supplemented by diet. In addition, seafood that can be eaten whole with bones is also a high calcium option, such as shrimp, cherry shrimp, dried fish, sardines, clove fish, etc., which tastes special and is deeply loved by many children! Soybeans and nuts are my favorite plants. You can choose soy products or dark green vegetables. For example, 1 day, 2 to 3 pieces of dried beancurd can make up nearly half of the daily calcium demand, or eat more calcium-rich vegetables such as celery, amaranth, phoenix cabbage, Chinese cabbage and kale. Nuts, almonds and walnuts are also one of the sources of calcium, especially the calcium released by grinding black sesame seeds is more easily absorbed and utilized by the human body (but nuts are rich in oil, which can also lead to obesity in excess). You can try sprinkling it on rice or adding it to homemade West Point biscuits, which is a delicious recipe for calcium supplementation! Vitamin D strengthens the bones. Calcium needs the assistance of vitamin D in the small intestine to make the absorption of calcium more perfect. After moderate sun exposure 15 to 20 minutes, the body will make vitamin D by itself to maintain strong bones. In fact, eels, salmon and egg yolks are also rich in vitamin D, and proper supplementation of potassium and magnesium is also an important angle to assist the absorption of calcium. Only pay attention to the fact that high calcium and high-speed rail will inhibit each other's absorption, so the interval must be 1 0. Children can also be healthy! In this regard, dietitian Liu Yili told us that vegetarianism is actually a healthy choice, but if the object is children, it is recommended to eat egg and milk with balanced nutrition, because eggs and milk belong to protein, and the absorption and utilization rate of human body is very high! Generally, vegetarians should eat staple food, vegetables and protein for every meal, but try to reduce the consumption of fried legumes such as gluten and red bean branches that have been processed many times, because although the taste is sweet and delicious, the nutrition has disappeared under the destruction of processing and high temperature! Can children eat calcium tablets? If the growth curve of children lags behind that of children of the same age, parents often worry about whether children need to store "good backbone" so as not to fall behind others. However, the daily intake of calcium is limited to 2,500 mg, and each person can only absorb 200 to 300 mg of calcium between meals, so it is generally not recommended for children under 3 to take calcium tablets directly. The liver and kidney functions of children who are too young have not been fully developed, and taking too much calcium will cause children's kidney burden. It is suggested to confirm whether the child really has calcium deficiency before taking calcium tablets, and then take low-dose calcium tablets under the instruction of a doctor. It's scary to say, but I'm sure you've all heard the saying "eat brain and eat bone". I'm sure many people are familiar with the folk prescription "bone meal", but the bone meal from unknown sources has doubts about heavy metal residues, which may have health effects on adults and children. Don't take bone meal from unknown sources at will to avoid losing big because of small! What about lactose intolerance? Lactose intolerance is due to the lack of lactase that digests lactose in the body, which leads to symptoms such as diarrhea and bloating after drinking milk. If children suffer from lactose intolerance, yogurt and yogurt are also a good choice to supplement calcium, because the lactose in fermented dairy products has been decomposed, so the content is less, but there is no shortage of calcium yogurt! It's just that fermented dairy products have high sugar and calories, so it's not advisable to eat too much at a time to avoid the problem of obesity among children. Liu Yili, a nutritionist, told us that there are actually many adults and children who are troubled by lactose intolerance, but this problem can be improved as long as they are trained. The amount of milk they drink can be increased from100c.c. to150c.c. and then to 200c.c, although there will still be a little diarrhea at first, but In addition, eating a little solid food before drinking milk can delay the absorption of lactose, which can also help our gastrointestinal tract adapt to lactose. If parents feel distressed when watching their children have diarrhea, they can also switch to milk powder with low lactose formula, and the calcium content will not be affected by low lactose! Liu Yili Education: Institute of Health Nutrition, Taipei Medical College Experience: nutritionist of preventive medicine and health consultation in Taian Hospital, qualified nutritionist in the national examination, dietitian of the Diabetes Society of the Republic of China, dietitian of the Obesity Society of the Republic of China, currently dietitian of Taian Hospital, a legal person of Seventh-day Adventist medical consortium.