The More You Workout, The More Calcium You Need
by Matt O'Connor, Certified Nutritionist & Founder of Honour Health
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Every single time that you move a muscle.
Every single time that you contract a muscle.
Your muscles are using calcium.
And the more that you work out, whether it's at the gym, whether it's running, sprinting, any type of exercise.
The more calcium your body needs.
You have Calcium in your muscles
When your muscles contract, your nervous system sends a signal to your muscles.
This signal triggers the release of calcium stored inside the muscle cells (one of the main storage sites for calcium).
And the release of calcium causes the muscles to contract.
This process happens literally every single time that your muscles move.
So if you're someone who likes to train three, four, five, six, seven days a week.
Your body's calcium needs are going to be higher.
Because quite simply, you are using more calcium to trigger more muscle contraction.
If you don't replenish your calcium levels, or if you're deficient in calcium.
Not only does this impact how well that your muscles can contract, which can obviously lead to decreases in performance.
It can also cause issues like cramping, spasms. Overall weakness and fatigue in your muscles.
Because your muscles simply do not have enough calcium to do their job properly.
We need to focus on the Micros, not just the Macros
When it comes to nutrition & working out, we so often hear the importance of the macros, the carbs, the fats, the proteins.
But it's not as often we hear the importance of our vitamins and minerals.
The micronutrients, minerals like calcium, magnesium, zinc, vitamin B.
These all play such a significant role in our overall muscle health and performance.
What happens if you're not getting enough calcium in your diet
If you’re not getting enough calcium in your diet, your body will actually draw calcium from other areas of your body where this is a supply of calcium.
And use this calcium to support muscle contraction.
One of the main sites is your bones.
In the short term, drawing calcium from your bones isn’t a major issue.
But if your body keeps having to pull calcium from your bones because it's not getting it from anywhere else, it's not getting it from your diet.
Your bones can become weaker, leading to range potential issues, like stress fractures.
So if you are someone who likes to train a lot, you must make sure you're doing what you can to get enough calcium in your diet every single day.
Good quality whole foods should always be the first choice for calcium (below are some of the foods that are most rich in Calcium).
And if you can't get enough calcium through food alone, you may need to consider looking to the support of a high quality calcium supplement.
Marine calcium form red algae is our pick for a high quality calcium supplement.
Foods rich in calcium
RDI = Recommended Dietary Intake (target amount you should be eating each day).
- Sardines with bones (90g can) – 325 mg calcium → 32% of RDI
- Plain yogurt (¾ cup / 200g) - 300 mg calcium → 30% of RDI
- Milk (1 cup / 250mL) – 300 mg calcium → 30% of RDI
- Parmesan cheese (1/2 handful / 15g ) - 165 mg calcium → 16.5% RDI
- Cooked spinach (½ cup) – 120 mg calcium → 12% of RDI
- Cooked kale (½ cup) – 90 mg calcium → 9% of RDI
- Chia seeds (1 tablespoon / 15g) – 95 mg calcium → 10% of RDI
- Almonds (30g / 1 handful) – 75 mg calcium → 8% of RDI
- Broccoli (½ cup cooked) – 35 mg calcium → 4% of RDI
The information provided here is for general informational purposes only & should not be considered as professional medical advice or a substitute for consulting with a healthcare provider. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.