Spinach will work against calcium absorption

My daughter has a child aged two whom she has breastfed for about 18 months. She also has a second child who is now nine months old.

Recently, my daughter had to be hospitalised for very low calcium levels. She has been on tablets since but her calcium levels are fluctuating all the time. She has to have blood tests almost every week. The doctor has said she will be on calcium tablets for life, she is 32 years old.

I have read recently that these tablets can flood the blood and cause hardening of the arteries, and also they are not very effective.

She eats foods which have calcium in them, tinned fish, seeds, etc. I would appreciate if you could let me know if there is any other alternative as the doctor doesn’t seem to have the answer.

Your daughter is already doing the right thing by eating calcium rich foods, and keeping tabs on her calcium levels. Around 99% of calcium in our bodies is found in our bones - of the remaining 1%, approximately 40% is bound to albumin.

It is this figure that shows up in the blood tests for calcium levels. My reason for mentioning these percentages is to help put things into perspective. Think of them as an early warning sign.

While less than half of 1% of her bodily calcium is represented in the results, it is still important to work on increasing her calcium levels and looking at reasons why she is testing consistently low for this mineral. Often digestion is at the root of this issue, since digestive problems typically lead to difficulty in absorbing nutrients.

The other common problem, particularly with calcium, is that we consume too much of a certain mineral, throwing its balancing counterpart out of balance.

Calcium and magnesium are a dynamic duo, and should we have too much magnesium in our system - the body will release calcium from the body in an attempt to restore the desired ratio.

You mention a concern about calcium supplementation. All calcium supplements are certainly not created equal, so while some will have negative side effects, there are others which work in harmony with the body.

The main issue here is whether they are natural/organic or synthetic/inorganic. Inorganic minerals can leach minerals from your body as a result of the body using nutrients to help remove the synthetic substances from the body.

In fact, the body can only absorb up to 25% (and usually only absorbs about 10%) of the calcium available in many supplement forms. There is a supplement called BioCalth, in which the calcium is already bonded with a metabolite of vitamin C called threonic acid, boosting absorption rates to an impressive 95%. Biocalth has no known side-effects and is available from health stores where 90 capsules cost €18.95.

It is important that your daughter is aware that there are substances in foods which work against calcium absorption. Spinach and asparagus both contain oxalic acid, which binds to calcium and creates a situation where the calcium is now too large to be absorbed and used by the body. This is particularly the case when the spinach or asparagus is cooked, but in any case it is important to include sufficient organic calcium in your diet via foods such as sesame seeds, tahini, carob, molasses, broccoli, beans, eggs, cheese and milk to counter this problem.