Calcium is one of the most well-known macrominerals out there. Probably because just about everyone was told at a young age that milk will help you build strong bones. Reason being, milk is famous for its strong Calcium content. And large amounts of Calcium are required to be consumed everyday.
There is a lot more Calcium in your body than you may think. In fact, it's estimated that there is roughly 2.2-4.4 lbs of Calcium in the human body. Where is all that distributed? 99% of it is localized in bone and teeth tissue, hence why Calcium is so well-known for bone health. (1) But what about that other 1% of Calcium? It's actually just as important. That other 1% allows your body to send cellular signals, have muscular contractions, and secrete hormones. (1)
Without Calcium you would not be able to have that signal sent to your brain when your finger touches a hot stove, or be able to lift weights at the gym. In addition, there is a solid amount of evidence demonstrating that calcium has other mechanisms. For instance, Calcium supplementation of 500 mg/day has shown to be an effective method for reducing mood disorders during Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS). (2)
It also has been shown to decrease fracture risks, decrease arterial stiffness, improve bone strength, and improve bone mineral density when taken in adequate amounts. (1) What are those adequate amounts? For females aged 19-50 and males aged 19-70, the 100% RDA is 1000 mg/day. And for females aged 51+ and males aged 71+, that number jumps up to 1,200 mg/day. (1)
Now alarm bells may be going off for some of you because you have noticed that our Pinnacle Men's and Women's Multis only include 500 mg. Did we make a mistake? In this case, no! After an extensive literature search, the data demonstrates that when dealing with Calcium via supplementation, absorption is highest in doses of 500 mg or less. (3) It's also well documented that Calcium competes for absorption with magnesium, zinc, and iron. (3)
Thus, a higher dosage would decrease the absorption of those other minerals. Combining all of this data together led us to deciding that 500 mg per serving in our Pinnacle Men's and Women's Multis will help all of our customers Reach Their Pinnacle! This still means you can't skimp out of getting Calcium from your diet. Lots of Calcium can be found in the dairy and vegetable sections of your local supermarket :)
1. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Calcium-
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1098