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Beyond the Skeleton
Calcium Health for Your Whole Body
By Dr. Aneema Van Groenou
Studies have proven again and again that a diet rich in calcium can prevent bone loss and protect against the development of osteoporosis.
During pregnancy, your fluctuating hormones and your fetus' developing bones draw on your body's calcium, so the total level of calcium in your blood drops. This drop does not affect your bone strength, however. Several hormonal changes compensate for this decrease in calcium to make sure your body has enough calcium for your own bones and for the growing fetus. In fact, your body is in calcium overdrive, building bone almost twice as fast as when you were not pregnant.
That is why getting adequate calcium in your diet is so important. The National Institutes of Health recommends at least 1,200 milligrams a day. A typical prenatal vitamin has about 200 milligrams. Taking calcium carbonate supplements (like an over-the-counter antacid) gives you about 600 milligrams in three chewable tablets. So even with good supplements, you still need to get a good deal of your calcium from your diet.
During breastfeeding, your estrogen levels drop very low (just like after menopause). This is why it is rare to become pregnant while breastfeeding. Because of these low estrogen levels and because you are giving your baby a healthy supply of calcium, your own calcium level falls very low.
When breastfeeding, your bones start to lose some of their stregth. Most women lose between 3 to 5 percent of their bone density during the first 10 to 18 weeks of breastfeeding.
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