Why are calcium tablets with vitamin d important?

For anyone looking in to taking calcium supplements, you may be wondering why are calcium tablets with vitamin d important? In any health store, you’ll find that there are so many calcium supplements that contain the calcium and Vitamin D. Why should the two be taken together – and is it really that important?

Calcium and vitamin D are very important together, they act like a team in the body, pairing up to do many different jobs. A lot of calcium supplements come with added Vitamin D principally to help the body absorb the mineral.

When absorbed, the partnership between calcium and vitamin D continues and helps to build strong bones. This cuts the risk of osteoporosis, rickets and other bone weakening conditions.

Secondly, when the body lacks vitamin D, this means that the body cannot form enough of calcitrol, the hormone which is otherwise known as ‘active vitamin D’. This is the hormone that regulates levels of calcium in the body and bone growth. Calcitriol allows the absorption of calcium from the intestines. It also decreases the rate at which calcium is excreted in urine, thus helping raise calcium levels in the body.

When the calcium levels drops in the body, the hormones realise that the body has no other choice than to get calcium from somewhere. The most obvious place is the calcium stores inside the skeleton. So calcium is taken from the bones in order to make more cells, and this weakens the bones.

Vitamin D and calcium also work to develop muscles, with vitamin D helping to build muscle strength and balance which in turn avoids bones fracturing and breaking.

Older people, especially, benefit from a combined supplement like calcium and vitamin D.

If you’re looking into taking calcium for the first time, and if your diet is not giving you the right levels of calcium as recommended, it might be a good idea to speak to your doctor and have a blood test to look at your vitamin D. This will give you a greater idea about any deficiencies which you can make up either in your diet or with the help of a useful supplement.