Importance of Calcium during childhood

Calcium is a mineral that is mostly found in a child's bones. It is documented in some research that, a very low calcium intake may cause development of rickets in infants and also children. Moreover, lack of calcium in the bones can also lead to lower bone mass and contribute in increasing the risk of some fractures in children and toddlers. At every age, from infancy to adolescence, calcium is one nutrient that kids simply cannot skip same to adults and also older individuals.

Throughout the development from infant to children and adolescents, human body uses mineral calcium to build strong bones and teeth and bone calcium tends to decrease in young adulthood and rapid bone loss occurs when we getting older, especially women, therefore, it is a major cause of osteoporosis as we grow older. Hence, a diet with calcium-rich foods to meet daily requirements is needed for the development of strong bones. It is also an important way to prevent the development of osteoporosis in adults. As long as parents provide their kids with diets that contain high calcium foods and they get enough calcium and physical activity during childhood and the teen years, they can begin their adult lives with the stronger bones. In order to have better calcium absorption for kids, all children, from infants to adolescents should get enough supply of vitamin D daily. Some of the food sources for vitamin D are salmon, tuna and sardine fish, cord liver oil, egg and vitamin D fortified foods. Vitamin D also can get from sunlight and also supplements.

Milk is the food that is high in calcium. It is also essential to know that there are other foods that are also a good supply of calcium, such as other dairy products like cheese and yogurt, vegetables, calcium fortified orange juice, and also other calcium fortified foods. In addition, dark green, leafy vegetables, tofu, sardines, and salmon, are also good nutrition sources of calcium. Moreover, kids who are allergy to milk, they can obtain calcium from soy milk and orange juice which is good nutrition sources of calcium too. On the other hand, parents should also prepare foods, meals or a diet with calcium-rich foods such as cheese sandwich, grains, meals with vegetables and beans, tofu and nuts.