The Hindu Business Line : Calcium can’t wait

Next time, you flunk a bone density scan test, don’t think like a man. When it comes to dietary needs, women and men are not created equal. As a woman, you have special nutritional needs due to hormonal changes that occur with adolescence, menstruation, pregnancy, lactation and menopause.

N. Balaji

Bone up: Milk and leafy vegetables are excellent calcium sources.

Basab Dey

There has been a flurry of attention and interest on disease prevention and general wellbeing in women in the past decade. Flip the pages of any trade magazine or upscale daily, and you will be surprised to find a dozen ‘ISO-9000’ certified companies promising you instant money-back guaranteed relief from excessive fat, weight, diabetes, joint pain, asthma, blood pressure and arthritis with ‘massagers’ and ‘machines’.

But while you are excited by the thought of ‘15 minutes of use being equivalent to 10,000 steps or 2.5 km walk’, saying ‘no’ or applying the brakes on nutritional requirements, especially calcium, can only worsen your bones and cartilage, resulting in osteoporosis and osteoarthritis respectively. Women are more prone to these conditions than men. Recent research even links depression to these ailments.

Already an estimated 60-70 per cent of women have age-related osteoporosis caused by hormonal disorders, chronic diseases, medication (antacids) or smoking, stress, fad diets and busy schedules. Popular diets may promise quick weight loss and easy escape from misery but calcium and other major nutrients may be missing from the menu, which can lead to bone loss, experts fear.

Absence of calcium in the diet means the body may take in calcium from the bones, leaving dangerous ‘heavy metals’ to fill in the spaces and causing cancer in the long term.

Pay attention to diet

Even the so-called ‘restrained eaters’ seem to have significantly lower bone mineral density and content, key indicators of bone strength and health, than their counterparts who are not too concerned about their diets. Because the RDA requirement for calcium, the most important content of bone development, is different for different age groups, a pregnant woman or a lactating mother needs at least 1,200 mg of calcium a day in her diet, while a woman of 25 years needs around 800 mg to build adequate reserves of this soft silvery white mineral, much before the onslaught of menopause — a condition which heralds minimal calcium absorption following the reduction of sex hormones.

“It is a known fact that a 25-year-old woman who takes 400 mg of calcium, half of what is generally recommended, will be a bigtime calcium loser by the time she is in her fifties, when requirement is much higher.

“Besides, women who work out at gyms and fitness centres with low intake of calcium are more prone to brittle bones that succumb under very little pressure,” warns Raji Sankaranarayanan, Chief Dietician, MIOT Hospital, Chennai.

Osteoporosis reduces mobility, causes constant backache, muscle spasm, thigh bone ache and difficulty in twisting and bending. Bone mineral density (BMD) tests show a decrease in bone mineral content only when the loss is at least 60 per cent and too late for remedy through increased calcium intake.

Balance the nutrients

The Indian diet now includes processed foods and lacks variety, leading to absence of essential nutrients. “Without including milk and leafy vegetables in the diet, it is nearly impossible to meet calcium needs. Nutrients work in tandem and complement each other. Calcium must be taken with Vitamin D, phosphorus, and magnesium to aid in absorption. Hence, a balance of common nutrients from varied food sources becomes imperative,” says Raji.

But for those with arthritis or other knee injuries, managing pain can be more complex than just taking aspirin, warn experts. Arthritis is a chronic condition that can cause significant pain and discomfort, and requires medication, but most drugs have some side effects.

“If medication doesn’t work, knee replacement surgery might be necessary for long-term relief and return to activity. For women, there is a new innovative solution called the gender knee replacement from Zimmer that not only helps restore knee function but also reduces knee pain. These are specifically designed keeping women in mind as they have a different bone structure vis-À-vis men,” says Dr A. Venkatachalam, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon and Joint Replacement Specialist, Chettinad Health City.

Supplements are okay too

So the next time you flunk a bone density scan test, don’t think like a man. When it comes to dietary needs, women and men are not created equal.

As a woman, you have special nutritional needs due to hormonal changes that occur with adolescence, menstruation, pregnancy, lactation and menopause. Although you should strive to get all your calcium from the foods you eat, there is no need to shy away from supplements – especially when it comes to vitamins and minerals.

And why stop at calcium only, when there is iron and folate to take care of that dreaded anaemia and neurological birth defects respectively?

After all, most diseases are linked to nutrient deficiency whether it is anaemia, osteoporosis, heart diseases, Type-2 diabetes or, for that matter, some forms of cancer. So what are you waiting for?