CalciumCa, 20

What is Calcium?

Is a chemical element of atomic number 20 and symbol Ca on the periodic table. A soft gray alkaline earth metal and the fifth most abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust. In its pure form, it is a silvery firm element which is malleable and when burned, it emits a yellow to red flame.

How is calcium ingested by humans?

Calcium is a mineral found in many foods and drinks like milk, cheese, yoghurt, seaweeds (kelp, hijiki and wakame), nuts and seeds, beans, figs, broccoli, spinach, tofu, dandelion leaves, many fortified breakfast cereals, many fortified drinks (soy milk and a variety of fruit juices), crushed eggshells - they can be ground into a powder and added to foods and/or drinks- and Some dark-green vegetables which may contain high levels of oxalic acid which reduces the body's ability to absorb calcium.

How is calcium beneficial to the human body?

Calcium is a nutrient the human body needs to maintain strong bones.

Ninety-nine percent of our body's calcium is stored in our bones and teeth, the other one percent is found in blood. Blood calcium is necessary to support our body's critical functions such as controlling our blood pressure and maintaining our heartbeat.

What happens if humans do not ingest sufficient calcium?

The calcium in our bones makes up our bone bank. Throughout our lifetime, the calcium from the foods we eat is "deposited" in and "withdrawn" from our bone bank, depending on our needs. When our calcium intake is too low to keep our blood calcium normal, our body will "withdraw" the calcium it needs from our bones. Over time, if more calcium is taken out of our bones than is put in, the result may be thin, weak bones that may break more easily.

How much calcium the human body need per day?

It is important to know the amount of calcium our body need each day. The following chart list the recommended daily calcium intake according to age and gender.

If this is your age and gender Then you need this much calcium each day

(mg = milligrams)

Birth to 12 months Supplied by formula or breast milk1-3 700 mg 4-8 1000 mg9-18 1300 mgMen 19 – 70 & Women 19 – 50 1000 mgWomen 51-70 1200mgMen and Women 71+ 1200 mg

Fluorine Element

What is Fluorine?

Is a chemical element of atomic number 9 and symbol F. A poisonous pale yellow gas of the halogen series, it is the most reactive and highly toxic gaseous of all the elements. In nature, fluorine will be found bonded with other substances, forming compounds such as calcium fluoride.

How is fluorine ingested by humans?

Humans do not ingest fluorine directly because is dangerous but they do ingest fluoride which is a combination of fluorine with other elements. Fluoride is found in natural water supplies (usually in very low levels), in plants which naturally absorb fluoride from the soil, so small amounts of fluoride compounds are present in all our food and is commonly used in pesticides (plant foods grown with pesticides will have a higher concentration) as well as in dental products. The highest dietary concentration of fluoride occurs in animal foods and in processed foods, especially fish. Fluoride builds up in the tissues of animals.

Is Fluorine beneficial to humans?

No, on the contrary, is very dangerous and in its pure form, is not generally available to people. However its compound elements such as fluoride is available but is not an essential nutrient for our body because when ingested at low levels, it can cause fluorosis which can be dental or skeletal and at high levels can even cause death.

How do calcium and fluorine interact in the human body?

When fluorides (an element of fluorine) are ingested by humans or laboratory animals, they are absorbed in the stomach and/or the intestine, if it is from soluble fluorides, is almost completely absorbed (either as HF or F-, depending on stomach acidity); it is then rapidly distributed in tissues. In humans and laboratory animals, fluorides mostly build up in bones and teeth, which retain about 99% of the total fluoride body. Growth and remodeling of bones are generally affected by both levels of calcium-phosphorus and fluoride. High fluoride causes shorter and thicker bones but generally had no effect on their density, whereas high calcium-phosphorus levels increase bone density.

References

http://www.news-medical.net/health/Calcium-What-is-Calcium.aspxhttp://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/conditions/osteoporosis/calcium_supplements.htmhttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/248958.phphttp://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/07/whats-the-deal-with-fluoride/http://jn.nutrition.org/content/102/12/1623.full.pdf