Intestinal barrier calcium absorption:
- a physiological intestinal barrier
- natural chemical blockers in the diet
- allergy and intolerance to nutrients from milk
- some diseases
The physiological intestinal barrier limits the absorption of calcium
The absorption of calcium from the diet is not unlimited, because excess calcium in body fluids may harm health. Calcium in excess may form stones in the gall bladder, kidney stones, as well as too high levels of calcium in the blood can lead to atherosclerotic calcification of the blood vessels, which is particularly dangerous for coronary and pulmonary arteries. In every healthy person there is so-called intestinal barrier regulating the amount of calcium absorbed. This barrier limits the absorption of calcium from a high-calcium diet to approx. 30%. In children, pregnant women and women during lactation, in the case of malnutrition or low-calcium diet (and in the case of some diseases) the percentage of calcium absorption from food is increased - on average to about 30 - 40% of the mineral. However, further increasing the calcium pool in the diet above the optimally digestible norm only slightly increases its absorption. The remaining, unabsorbed part of the calcium - non-digestive compounds or excess thereof, in the case of a diet too rich in calcium - is excreted mainly in the faeces (about 70-90%); and in the urine through the kidneys. It should also be known that the percentage of calcium absorbed can be highly variable individually. (1,2,9)
Natural chemical blockers in the diet
Calcium after getting into the small intestine is associated with some of the substances contained in the daily diet of indigestible compounds or is already chemically associated with them in this way. For example, oxalic, phytic and uronic acids - present in many vegetables that react chemically with milk calcium to form non-absorbable salts excreted in the feces. Also some cereal products, in which there is a lot of phosphorus in the form of phytic acid, forming with calcium intolerable compounds in the intestine. What's more, it should be noted that the absorption of calcium from digested food is adversely affected by a diet rich in products containing saturated fats and the abovementioned excess of animal protein. For example, the abundance of fats impairs calcium absorption because it can form sparingly soluble soaps with fatty sas.
Organic dietary ingredients blocking the absorption of calcium:
- oxalates - present in the leaves of many plants - eg sorrel, beetroot, etc.
- phytate - present in some full-mill cereal products (oat flakes, barley, rye flour, etc.) and in legumes
- uronic acids, the content of which varies from 10% in non-cellulosic fraction of vegetable fiber to 40% in vegetables and fruits
- indigestible fiber containing the so-called cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, etc. (beans, peas, flax seeds, wheat bran, etc.
- excess of saturated fat in the diet
- excess animal protein
Absorption of calcium in vegetarians
Vegetarian diet seems very low in calcium, because the average vegetarian intestine can absorb about 360 mg of Ca per day. But scientific research shows that in vegetarians about 80% of uronic acids, which are a lot in this type of diet - may be beneficial fermentation in the intestine. As a result of this fermentation, the part of indigestible calcium associated with uronic acids is released into easily digestible form and can be absorbed in the large intestine. But be careful! Preferred for the fermentation of uronic acids and the release of calcium, bacterial microflora and enzymatic processes develop quite a long time before they reach physiological efficiency. Therefore, you should not risk implementing a vegetarian diet in young children.It is better to undertake such attempts at people who are already mature, with shaped bones. (13)
Allergy to cow's milk protein
Susceptibility to cow's milk protein occurs most frequently in young children, in those in whom the father or mother is allergic. (The risk of sensitization intensifies when two parents are atopic allergies!). A much less frequent allergy occurs in older children and adults. It is estimated that this disease affects from 0.5 to 4% of infants and its severity decreases visibly with age. The most common symptoms are vomiting and diarrhea, although there are also a number of other symptoms. Milk allergenicity can be reduced by heating, which denatures some milk proteins reducing their sensitizing properties; or the consumption of milk powder. Another useful technology for fighting sensitization is the use of enzymes that digest milk proteins to form short-chain peptides. However, fermented milk (yogurt or fermented cheese) does not eliminate sensitizing properties because the protein structure changes to a small extent. (15)
How to deal with milk allergies?
If the diagnosis of cow's milk allergy has been proven, it should be excluded from the diet. The main problem in such cases is to provide the body with essential nutrients, which are usually milk. This applies especially to calcium, magnesium, vitamins A, D, B2 and B12. A good source of calcium are, among others canned fish (eg sardines or salmon) eaten with bones.
Intolerance to milk sugar - lactose
This ailment results from the lack of the enzyme LAKTAZY in the intestines - digesting milk sugar (lactose). Lactose is so-called dwucukrem located in milk in a great abundance. This sugar is well digested and absorbed, if you do not miss the above-mentioned special enzyme - lactase. In people who lack enzyme - this sugar, after going into the large intestine, is subject to rapid fermentation, with the release of large amounts of intestinal gases. This results in embarrassing bloating and abdominal pain and diarrhea. (15)
Problems with the diagnosis of milk intolerance
In the youth, most people on our globe have the ability to digest milk sugar lactose - and before reaching adulthood often loses it in part or completely. This is because the digestive enzyme of lactose sugar is genetically inactivated during a certain period of life. That is why the amount of milk (and dairy products) that cause the above signs of intolerance is very variable. In some people, lactose intolerance may already be caused by a small amount of milk, while in others it appears only after consuming large amounts. The severity of intolerance symptoms can also be very different depending on age and individual predispositions. It may also be due to the fact that the dairy lactose content may vary depending on the type and batch of the product or the storage time. (16)
Procedure if symptoms after lactose intake are severe
First, eliminate the lactose food sources, which requires careful reading of information on the composition of food products. In addition to milk (12-13 g / 240 ml) and its preserves (natural yoghurt - 8.4 g / 240 ml, cottage cheese - 1.4 g / 240 ml, yellow cheese - <0.1 g / 24 g), lactose is also found in: bread and other bakery products; breakfast cereals; powdered products for the preparation of pancakes, pastries and cakes; soups and mashed potato powder; powdered beverages; margarine; meat mince; ready-made salad dressings; sweets and other snacks (and in many oral medications and vaccines). The above-mentioned symptoms - bloating, stomach pain and diarrhea should resolve after 2 weeks of using a lactose-free diet. But be careful! They will return after re-consumption of dairy products. (16)
Acquired intolerance to milk sugar saves the inhabitants of the north of the globe?
It seems that most people living north of our globe, especially the north of Europe, have this kind of digestive enzyme lactose, which can be active throughout life. Therefore, milk intolerance occurs here only in about 5% of the adult population. Unfortunately, intolerance to lactose may be secondary acquired - due to ... avoiding the consumption of milk for a long time. For avoiding this periodically acquired ailment, it is recommended to consume the "over-digested" products - with lactose already partially fermented - for example, rennet yellow or camembert cheese cheeses, yoghurts and kefirs, etc.These products are usually better tolerated than milk. Lactose intolerance can also be reduced by prophylactic (and regular) intake of small quantities of products containing lactose. In this way, the intestinal mucosa is stimulated to restore the proper bacterial microflora and resume enzyme production - lactase. Conversely, the long-term non-use of milk as food by adults favors an increasing loss of the enzyme lactase from the intestines.
Foods, stimulants and drugs that interfere with calcium absorption
The list of popular substances disturbing the metabolism of calcium absorption is min. strong coffee, tea, sedatives, antibiotics (mainly from the tetracycline group), contraceptives, anticonvulsants. In addition, calcium absorption is inhibited by aluminum, phosphorus, excess magnesium and potassium compounds and strontium. Alcohol, in turn, impairs the absorption of Ca as a result of toxic effect on the brush border enterocyte and damage to the mitochondria. (9)
Other barriers of intestinal absorption of calcium
- alkalisation (deacidification) of the digestive content, which takes place when using certain medications (protecting the gastric mucosa)
- excessive growth of intestinal flora, which occurs in infants fed artificially based on cow's milk (calcium is excreted in the greater amount from the gastrointestinal tract in the form of insoluble calcium salts in the faeces) (12)
- alcohol abuse, smoking
Intestinal diseases and calcium absorption
In the case of intestinal diseases (eg duodenal ulcer, irritable bowel, Crohn's disease, etc.), it is good to know how this will affect the bioavailability of calcium. Well, the fastest absorption of calcium takes place in the duodenum, and then in order in the jejunum, ileum and colon (large intestine). However, the largest amounts of calcium are absorbed in the ileum (63%), then in the jejunum (23%) and duodenum (15%), and only a small amount is absorbed into the blood in the stomach and the colon. 13)
Ed. Edward Ozga Michalski, MA
More knowledge in the articles of the department:
CHILDREN NEED CALCIUM
BONE CONSTRUCTION
BONE GROWTH INPUT
LOW-DRY DIET
INCUSION OF CALCIUM AND VITAMIN D
DIET A MINERALIZATION OF BONE
Literature
1. Ziemlański Światosław: The basics of proper human nutrition. Nutritional recommendations for the population in Poland; 1998; Danone Institute - Foundation for the Promotion of Healthy Nutrition.
2. Vitamins, minerals, E numbers, U.Unger-Gobel, ed. MUZA SA, 1997 s 131
3. Osteoporum -The body's need for calcium, ed. online Polfa Łódź 2004
4. Calcium health element - Danuta Kalińska Moje zdrowie, 1999
5. Diet in osteoporosis, "Let's live longer" 10 (October) 1999
7. Marcinowska-Suchowierska E .: Risk factors for osteoporosis. Medical Magazine, 2002: 1: 30-39.
8. Proposed milk diet doc. dr hab. farm of Aleksandra Ożarowski, Moje Zdrowie, 1996
9. The WIEM encyclopedia - http://portalwiedzy.onet.pl/92959,,,wapn,haslo.html
10. Source: http://www.nadzieja.pl/lekarz/rola_wapnia.html
11. Lorenc R.S., Karczmarewicz E .: The importance of proper calcium supply for the general health of the body; 1992. Medycyna 2000, 29/30: 14-19.
12.VITAMIN D - YES OR NOT? dr Joloanta Ganowicz - Ph.D., pediatrician, neonatologist (Centrum Zdrowia Dziecka in Warsaw.) "More Believers" Magazine No. 20/4/2000
13. Calcium-phosphate economy in the states of physiology and pathology of the digestive system; Contemporary Pediatrics. Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Child Nutrition 2001, 3, 2, 111-117 ISSN 1507-5532, Author: Prof. dr hab. Józef Ryżko. Clinic of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition of the Institute of Human Physiotherapy.
14. The role of calcium and vitamin D and its active metabolites in the prevention of osteoporotic fractures dr. Med. Waldemar Misiorowski, Doctor's Guide 10/2004
15. Food allergy - what is this disease? ¬ródło: http: //www.lapharma.info/u235/navi/198609; dr n. medJanusz Ciok; Institute of Food and Nutrition, 2000.
16. Lactose intolerance in infants, children and adolescents - Current (2006) position of the American Academy of Pediatrics - elaboration based on: Lactose intolerance in infants, children, and adolescents Melvin B. Heyman on behalf of the Nutrition Committee American Academy of Pediatrics Pediatrics, 2006 ; 118: 1279-1286 Medycyna Praktyczna Pediatria 2007/01
