Mineral -> Calcium

It is the most abundant mineral in the body, whose salts form the substance that hardens the skeleton and teeth. The body of an adult contains between 1 and 1.5 kilos of calcium, the larger quantity (99%) is found in bones and teeth. and a small portion (1%) in the blood and the rest of the organism.

In addition to being part of the skeleton, calcium performs other interesting functions in the body:

• It intervenes in the transmission of nerve impulses, especially in the heart, thus maintaining the cardiac rhythm.
• It is needed to maintain a normal coagulation of the blood.
• It regulates the basic acid balance of blood, keeping it from becoming too acidic. In this way it neutralises the acid which normally is produced through the metabolism of proieins.

Calcium needs vitamin D to be absorbed into the intestines and thus be passed on to the blood.

The deficiency of calcium is first manifested in a condition known as tetany, which is characterized by muscular cramps which can actually become spasms. When this persists, it causes changes in the heart rhythm (palpitations), nervous irritability, loss of the normal hardness of the bones (rickets in children, and osteoorosis or osteomalacia in adults), pain in the joints and loss of teeth.