Question

Mrs. Smith is approaching her 80th birthday. She is adamant about her health including her healthy bones, so she’s been taking calcium supplements for over 40 years. Should she consume her calcium supplements with meals or between meals? Explain your answer. What other nutrients should Mrs. Smith be careful about?

Answer 1

Calcium deficiency is quite common in older people like Mrs. Smith. Lack of Vitamin D and calcium-rich food marks the need for calcium supplements. Dairy products, green leafy vegetables like curly kale, okra and spinach, nuts, and oilseeds are a good source of calcium. Swelling, bone pain, changes in skin and hair-fall may indicate calcium deficiency in the body, and calcium supplements would be required in such cases. The general requirement in the body for calcium is said to be 1000mg every day. However, since Mrs. Smith is meeting that requirement through supplements, she must take it two tablets of 500mg each at different time intervals. The best time to take calcium supplements is after dinner. This is because calcium is known to be reacting with many other medications like pain killers, multi-vitamins, laxatives, and iron supplements. Most of these medications are quite common with older age people like Mrs. Smith and hence she must take care of it. One thing to notice here is that calcium is a type of mineral that is not easily or readily absorbed by the body and thus Mrs. Smith should always take it with food and not in between meals as the stomach acid produced by the body while eating help in easy absorption of calcium supplements. As mentioned earlier, Vitamin D and Calcium are very important for healthy bones in older age people like Mrs. Smith. However, she should also ensure an adequate quantity of Vitamin B12, Dietary Fiber, and Potassium in her meals as these nutrients are very important for people of her age.