Parents certainly hope that their children will grow up quickly, but indiscriminate calcium supplementation may outweigh the gains. A Hong Kong mother posted on the Internet a few days ago, accusing her grandmother that she thought her granddaughter who was still in elementary school was too short because she loved to compare with her neighbors, so she bought calcium tablets to feed her granddaughter herself, which made her feel helpless.
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Some Hong Kong mothers recently posted in the Hong Kong discussion forum with “Grandma thinks that the child is short, so she feeds the child with calcium tabletsThe title refers to her daughter’s height compared to children of the same age. Although she thinks her daughter’s height is fine, her grandmother likes to compare herself with others, referring to the neighbor’s daughter who is the same age, “but she is much taller.”
One day, after chatting with the neighbors, my grandma bought a lot of calcium tablets and went home. At first, the Hong Kong mother thought that her grandmother wanted to supplement calcium, but she bought it for her daughter. She said that her daughter in elementary school is still young, so she doesn’t need to worry about her height. In addition, she saw on the Internet that excessive calcium intake is also harmful, and she usually consumes calcium from food, so she is worried that her daughter’s calcium tablets will be harmful to her health. She also pointed out that her grandmother doted on her daughter, which caused her daughter to have a serious partial eclipse problem.
“Usually children are partial eclipse grandmothers and they can’t force them to eat. When children have partial eclipse problems, the problem of partial eclipse is serious. If they don’t absorb enough calcium, it’s because of grandma’s favor. Zha Zhong wants to buy a lot of calcium tablets in the house, but I don’t know. Good food for the little ones…”
As soon as the post came out, many netizens pointed out that excessive absorption of calcium would be harmful to health, and some even pointed out that it would affect liver and kidney function. In addition, some netizens also reminded Hong Kong mothers to pay attention to the amount of calcium tablets and not to let their daughters eat them indiscriminately:
Recommended daily intake of calcium
According to information from the Department of Health, the daily recommended intake of calcium for children at different ages varies. The relevant recommendations are as follows:
4-6 years: 800 mg/day
7-10 years: 1,000 mg/day
11-13 years: 1,200 mg/day
14-17 years: 1,000 mg/day
For children, adequate calcium intake is one of the important elements to promote development and height. In fact, calcium has the highest content of all minerals in the human body. Most of it is stored in bones and teeth (bone calcium), and the rest is in the blood (blood calcium). Although the proportion of blood calcium is small, it helps the body’s blood coagulation and muscle contraction. Therefore, the human body needs to maintain a certain blood calcium level. If calcium deficiency continues, there is a chance of suffering from hypocalcemia, which affects blood coagulation and cardiac muscle contraction. , and bone calcium will also be extracted into the blood to maintain the level of blood calcium. As a result, the bones lose too much calcium and become loose and brittle, and even break easily.
Kiki, a registered dietitian of the Hong Kong Community Dietitian Association, said in an interview with The Sky News that to promote children’s height, adequate calcium intake is a must. Among them, children should consume at least two servings of milk or substitutes a day, such as high-calcium milk, calcium-fortified soy milk, calcium-fortified vegetable milk, cheese or yogurt. At the same time, you should also eat more calcium-rich foods, such as spinach and tofu:
- 1 serving of milk and substitutes is equal to:
- 1 cup (240ml) low-fat milk/high-calcium vegetable milk such as oat milk, almond milk, etc.
- 2 slices low-fat cheese
- 1 small box (150g) low-fat plain cheese
Other high calcium foods:
- Vegetables high in calcium (kale, choy sum, okra, edamame, bok choy, broccoli, spinach): about 100-200 mg of calcium per bowl
- 3 pieces of plate tofu and dried tofu: about 200-300 mg of calcium per serving
- Two tablespoons (about 20 grams) of dried shrimp: about 100 mg of calcium per serving
- Two tablespoons (about 20 grams) of dried small fish: about 100 mg of calcium per serving
- One tablespoon of black/white sesame seeds: about 50-100 mg of calcium per serving
- Two tablespoons of almonds: about 50-100 mg of calcium per serving
- One tablespoon of chia seeds: about 50-100 mg of calcium per serving
Excessive calcium intake is bad for health
However, taking too much calcium can also be dangerous. In an earlier interview, Dr. Wong Wan-chi, a lecturer in the Department of Applied Science of the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Kwai Chung) and a British registered dietitian, pointed out that people aged 7 to 18 should not consume more than about 2,000 mg of calcium per day, and about 2,500 mg for adults. However, the dosage of calcium tablets on the market is mostly 500 to 1,000 mg per tablet. If you eat two tablets a day, coupled with your daily diet, it is easy to exceed the standard. Dr. Huang said: “Long-term excessive calcium intake may affect the absorption of iron and zinc. The joints also start to accumulate calcium. Also, because too much calcium is excreted in the urine, there is a chance of kidney stones forming.”
Dr. Huang suggested that if you are worried about insufficient calcium intake, it is best to first consider improving your dietary habits instead of relying on supplements. “Unless there is any problem with the body that prevents the body from properly absorbing enough calcium, you should consult a doctor or a nutritionist first. See how to correct the problem, not buy supplements on your own.”
Insufficient intake of vitamin D causes rickets
In addition to calcium intake, Kiki pointed out that getting enough vitamin D is also very important, because vitamin D helps the intestinal absorption of calcium, maintains normal levels of calcium and phosphorus in the blood, and strengthens bones. On the contrary, if the child is growing up with a long-term lack of vitamin D, it may lead to rickets, the bones will not calcify normally and become soft, deformed, and prone to fractures, and the patient will also experience growth retardation and low blood calcium levels. Your child can get vitamin D in the following ways:
Dietary intake:
- Oily fish: salmon, mackerel, sardine, etc.
- Foods containing vitamin D: milk, liver, egg yolks, mushrooms, etc.
Exposure to sunlight:
- Allow 5 to 15 minutes of sunlight to reach your face, arms, and hands two to three times a week. People with darker skin may need longer sun exposure. In winter, the sun is milder, and the skin also needs to be irradiated for a longer time;
- At the same time, you can also perform bone-building exercises in the outdoor sunshine to promote the skin to synthesize vitamin D and help calcium absorption. It is recommended to perform bone-building exercises 3 times a week, 1 hour each time, to strengthen bone density, and related exercises are the best This includes movements such as running and jumping.
Is it good for children to increase their meals to 3 meals a day?
Kiki also specially designed the following high-calcium menu for parents’ reference. The food in the menu can help children grow healthily and grow taller:
- Breakfast: 1 cup of high calcium low sugar soy milk + 1 salmon rice ball + 1 hard boiled egg (with egg yolk)
- Lunch: 1 teriyaki mackerel bento + 1 bowl of edamame
- Afternoon tea: 1 cup low-fat cheese (150g) + 1 bowl of blueberries
- Dinner: 1 bowl of rice + fried spiced dried bean curd with broccoli + fried cabbage with minced shrimp and meat
The high-calcium, low-sugar soy milk and low-fat cheese in the menu are the recommended daily “milk or substitutes” for children; edamame, broccoli, spiced dried bean curd, dried shrimp and cabbage are high-calcium foods; salmon rice balls, Eggs and mackerel are rich in vitamin D.
In addition to providing sufficient calcium, Kiki pointed out that it also meets the needs of children’s balanced nutritional intake of the five major food types and portions recommended by the Hong Kong Healthy Eating Guidelines, which is helpful for children’s growth, prevention of long-term diseases and maintenance of health. Salmon and mackerel in the menu also contain omega 3, and eating foods containing omega 3 two to three times a week can also help protect heart health.
3 types of food to avoid excessive
As for the following foods, Kiki says you should avoid overdosing on developing children, as there is a chance that they can hinder their body’s absorption or increase the loss of calcium:
- excess meat
- High sodium (salt) diet such as processed meat, salted eggs, instant noodles or soy sauce
- Avoid drinking large amounts of caffeinated beverages such as strong tea or coffee
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