Everyone knows how important calcium is for our body. And everyone knows the symptoms of his lack - brittle bones and tooth decay. But an excess of calcium in the body also does not benefit him, which not everyone knows about. The excess of this element will be discussed in this article. What are the symptoms, and what are the consequences of an excess of calcium in the body, what to do and how to prevent the negative impact of this factor?
Important trace element
Up to 99% of calcium is found in bone tissue, and 1% in the form of free ions is found in various fluids of our body. With a lack of food, the body begins to "steal" it from the skeleton and teeth. But calcium plays an important role in the implementation of muscle contractions, including heart rate, it corrects blood pressure, strengthens connective tissue and takes part in the membrane transport of various substances.
Calcium is also responsible for our reactions to stressful situations, and is involved in blood coagulation mechanisms. In addition, it is this element that helps us cope with allergies and has an anti-inflammatory effect.
Consumption rates
Calcium enters our body only with food, but it is excreted naturally poorly. The daily intake of calcium is individual and depends on the age group:
- Up to three years, the child's need for calcium in the body is 600 milligrams per day.
- A ten-year-old child, whose teeth begin to change, should consume up to 800 milligrams of calcium per day.
- Up to 16 years, the body's need for calcium is growing, and the consumption rate is 1200 milligrams.
- Adults can consume about 1000 milligrams.
- In pregnant women, the need for calcium increases to 1200 milligrams per day.
- For people engaged in heavy physical labor and athletes, the consumption rate is 1,500 milligrams per day.
A lot too bad
An excess of calcium in the body is called hypercalcemia. Such a pathology is often found among lovers of dairy products, as well as in people who drink hard water with an excess of calcium. These are physiological reasons. But often the development of a pathological excess of calcium in the body occurs in the elderly.
Pathological may be such causes of hypercalcemia:
- Increased production of hormones by the parathyroid glands (parathyroid hormone) - hyperparathyroidism. This pathology is more common in women, the symptoms of an excess of calcium in the body are practically absent and such conditions are detected only during examination.
- The presence of malignant tumors in the lungs and kidneys. In men, an excess of calcium in the body can lead to neoplasms in the testes and degeneration of the prostate gland.
- Radiation therapy for oncology and intoxication with vitamin D can lead to hypercalcemia.
- An excess of calcium can be associated with hereditary diseases and hormonal disorders.
Symptoms of an excess of calcium in the body
Often such conditions are asymptomatic. But signs of an excess of calcium in the body can be considered a decrease or loss of appetite, a feeling of constant thirst, nausea and vomiting. In addition, general weakness and increased fatigue appear. Subsequently, digestive disorders in the form of constipation join these symptoms, and in an advanced state confusion and hallucinations are possible. Since excess calcium is deposited in muscle tissue and blood vessels, night cramps and fragility of blood vessels may appear, and its subsidence in the renal ducts leads to the development of urolithiasis.
This is a common symptom of hypercalcemia characteristic of adults. You can imagine what can cause an excess of calcium in the body in a child.
Consequences of oversupply
The consequences of an oversupply will not be killed, but they can worsen life. Calcium is not toxic and even its very high content in the body will not lead to death. But the consequences of its prolonged high content in the blood can be very unpleasant, namely:
- Arterial hypertension is an increase in blood pressure against the background of calcium deposition on the walls of blood vessels. Gout is a pathology of tissues and joints caused by a violation of salt balance and the accumulation of uric acid.
- Calcifications are calcium deposits in tissues and muscles that are quite painful. Up to calcification of the aortic valve, when surgical intervention is indispensable.
- Hyperparathyroidism is an endocrine disease associated with hyperfunction of the parathyroid glands and impaired salt electrolyte balance.
In addition, with an excess of calcium, the excitability of skeletal muscle nerve fibers is inhibited, the tone of smooth muscles of the internal organs decreases. Blood becomes thicker, which provokes the formation of kidney stones, the development of bradycardia and angina pectoris. The acidity of gastric juice with this pathology increases, and this can provoke gastritis and peptic ulcer.
What we can do
To begin with, it is necessary to undergo an examination and pass tests to determine the hormonal background of the body. Having established the reason for the accumulation of this element, it is necessary to begin the removal of excess calcium from the body.
First of all, it is necessary to exclude from the diet all foods that are high in calcium - milk, hard cheeses, eggs, greens (especially parsley) and cabbage. A lot of calcium is found in sesame and its oil, in almonds and nuts, chocolate (in black is more than in white), halva and sunflower seeds, white bread and rice.
Preparations containing calcium should be taken carefully, taking into account the hardness of our drinking water.
You can start drinking distilled water. But it is worth remembering that such water, along with calcium, leaches other trace elements from the body. Therefore, you can drink it no more than 2 months.
In addition, it is worth strictly adhering to those dosages of calcium-boosting agents prescribed by your doctor. And take vitamin D only as prescribed by the doctor, because it is with his participation that the chemical reactions of regulation of potassium metabolism of parathyroid parathyroid hormone occur.
The treatment is extremely complex
Depending on the concentration of calcium in the blood plasma, the doctor prescribes various drugs for accelerated excretion of the mineral. In normal kidney function, it can be a diuretic (for example, Furosemide). Sometimes it’s enough to correct the fluid intake and diet to stabilize the situation. Your doctor may prescribe a high-magnesium calcium antagonist (such as Veropomil), sometimes glucocorticosteroids, bisphosphonates and calcitonin are used.
In some of the most severe cases, hemodialysis can be prescribed. Only those patients are sent to this procedure, treatment by other methods in which does not give a result.
Sometimes the doctor prescribes surgical excision of the parathyroid glands. Removal of one or two glands in 90% of cases reduces the release of parathyroid hormone and hypercalcemia is eliminated.
It is worth noting that in the treatment of this pathology, it is necessary to control the composition and biochemistry of the blood.
Calcium Kills Women
It is to these conclusions that scientists from Sweden came. In our country, calcium preparations are on sale and are part of bioadditives to strengthen hair and nails.
Parathyroid hormone is responsible for the regulation of calcium concentration in the human body, which increases the calcium content in blood plasma, reduces its content in bone tissue and delays its excretion. Recent evidence suggests that sex hormones are also involved in metabolic processes associated with calcium in women.
But recent studies have shown that intake of more than 1400 milligrams of calcium per day by middle-aged and older women increases the risk of death from cardiovascular failure.
A lot of calcium in the blood leads to Parkinson's disease
Recent studies by scientists have confirmed data that with a high calcium content in blood plasma, specific toxic proteins characteristic of Parkinson's disease accumulate in the nervous system. These proteins, the role of which until recently was not clarified, destroy neurons. Doctors today believe that medications that lower calcium levels in heart disease can also have a protective effect on nerve tissue.
Summarizing
Now the reader knows that in children, women and men, the symptoms of an excess of calcium in the body are the same and lead to negative consequences, as well as its lack.
It is only important to remember the dangers of self-medication and entrust the establishment of a final diagnosis and establishment of treatment protocols to a competent specialist.