Calcium or calciums? Choosing dairy calcium

Calcium enrichment meets a very real challenge: that of helping to meet calcium requirements at different stages of life, to maintain health and performance. These include key periods such as childhood, adolescence, menopause and the senior years, as well as training and competition phases for athletes.

The market dynamic bears witness to this: +57% of calcium-enriched product launches worldwide between 2018 and 2023, according to Innova[1]. The aim here is to enrich in quantity, of course, while keeping a watchful eye on the quality of the calcium used. So how can we ensure that calcium is properly bioavailable to achieve the desired efficacy? In this respect, dairy calcium has long been studied and shown to be superior[2].

The nutritional needs of different age groups, scientific evidence and choosing the right form of calcium: in this article, we invite you to delve into the world of calcium.

Calcium: what is its role in health?

Calcium: a major mineral in our body

Calcium's reputation is well-founded: it is the mineral present in the greatest quantity in our bodies. An adult's body contains about 1 kg, 99% of which is contained in bones and teeth[3].

The remaining 1% is less visible but just as essential: it is involved in muscle contraction, blood coagulation, hormone release and enzyme activation[4].

Calcium throughout life

Calcium intake is a particularly sensitive subject, for one major reason: bones are a living tissue that constantly renews itself all throughout life. To put it simply, old bone is "destroyed" by cells called osteoclasts*, and new bone is "built" by osteoblasts**.

The activity of these two cell types varies throughout life:

• During childhood and adolescence, osteoblasts are very active. This is the time to build a solid skeleton that will provide a good foundation for the rest of your life.
• But it doesn't stop there. The next step is to support bone renewal with high-quality, adapted and constant intake.
• Then, in senior age, osteoclasts become more active than osteoblasts. Bone tends to deconstruct. Menopause, with its accompanying hormonal changes, accentuates this phenomenon in women. Calcium intake must therefore be increased to return to levels almost equal to those of adolescence.

Bone tissue is constantly being renewed. That's why it's essential to maintain a steady intake of calcium.

How do you meet these calcium requirements?

Similarly to other minerals, calcium is not secreted by the body. It must therefore be supplied through the diet. Milk and dairy products are the main sources of calcium in our diet[7] because they have the highest concentration of calcium per 100g. Other good sources of calcium include nuts and legumes, certain vegetables, mineral waters and, of course, calcium-enriched foods. But to fully understand the ratio between dairy products and other foods: 100g of almonds provides 260mg of calcium, while 100g of Gruyère cheese contains 1,090 mg[8].

Calcium is a special mineral in that its requirements are relatively high, and greater than those of other minerals. For example, a woman's daily magnesium requirement is 360 mg vs 950 mg for calcium. What's more, eating habits are not always adequate. For example, it is estimated that 50% of the world's population has inadequate calcium intake[9].

For example, inadequate intakes (e.g. vegans[10], lactose intolerant) and/or increased requirements that are not compensated for (e.g. athletes, menopausal women) can lead to deficiencies that are not without consequence. The most obvious concerns the skeleton: it has been shown that vegans are more exposed to bone fractures than other categories of eaters[11]. Hypocalcemia, i.e. insufficient calcium levels in the blood, can lead to psychological disorders (depression), neurological symptoms (confusion, memory loss) and muscular symptoms (pain, cramps)[12].

Calcium enrichment: what do we know about bioavailability?

Calcium bioavailability: how does it work?

Bioavailability is used to evaluate the quantity of a nutrient actually absorbed by the body vs. the quantity present in the original food. In the case of calcium, this refers to the amount of calcium absorbed through the intestinal wall, but also to the calcium that is ultimately retained in the bone.

Assessing the bioavailability of calcium is essential to ensure adequate intake, since not all calcium is equal.

• The bioavailability of dairy calcium is well documented at around 30-40%. The accompanying phosphorus and potassium reduce urinary calcium excretion and promote bone retention[13].
• The bioavailability of calcium from plants is influenced by the presence of organic acids, notably oxalic acid***, present in widely varying quantities in different vegetables and pulses. For example, while the calcium in almonds has a bioavailability of 21%[14], that of spinach is only 5% due to its high oxalic acid content[15].

Dairy calcium therefore has a unique and reliable absorption pattern.

Food is not the only factor influencing calcium absorption, since the latter decreases with age. It is one-third lower in a person aged 70 to 79 compared to an adult aged 20 to 59[16]. To compensate for this, it is important to choose a form of calcium with good bioavailability, in appetizing, nutrient-dense foods.

To remember

In order to choose the right calcium for enrichment, it should be examined according to a number of criteria:

• The amount of calcium used.
• The selected form of calcium, for better assimilation in the body.
• The other nutrients that accompany it, ensuring the presence of phosphorus and potassium for good absorption and bone retention. 

Why choose Armor Protéines milk minerals?

As an expert in specialty dairy ingredients, Armor Protéines develops tailor-made functional and nutritional solutions for your applications.

Among our dairy-based mineral solutions, we offer VITALARMOR Ca M10, a mineral concentrate rich in milk calcium, in the form of calcium phosphate (similar to the composition of teeth and bone).

Our ingredient has a controlled particle size to guarantee a particle size of 90% < 10 µm. This size improves suspension in food matrices.

VITALARMOR Ca M10 contains 27% calcium, but you will find many other nutrients in this complex:

•  phosphorus (P), the second most important component of bones after calcium, and potassium (K). Two minerals are essential for good calcium bioavailability[17].
• magnesium (Mg), 60% of which is stored in the bones. In particular, magnesium promotes bone formation through its positive influence on the cells and enzymes involved in this process[18].

VITALARMOR Ca M10 can then be used to enrich dairy products (yogurt, drinking yogurt, fresh cheese), ice cream or cookie products, offering a wide choice of foods to supplement.

* Osteoclasts are the cells that destroy damaged bone in bone tissue.

** Osteoblasts are the cells that rebuild new bone in bone tissue.

*** Oxalic acid is an organic acid found in many plants, particularly fruits and vegetables. It can reduce the absorption of certain nutrients.

[1] Innova New Product Launches 2018-2023.
[2] Cerin. Meeting recommended calcium intake: is it possible without dairy products? March-April 2014.
[3] MSD manual. Hypocalcemia. Revised in September 2023.
[4] Anses. Calcium: why and how should you consume it? October 2022.
[5] Anses. Nutritional references for vitamins and minerals. April 2021.
[6] Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for calcium and vitamin D. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. 2011.
[7] Pointillart A., Guéguen L. Is milk essential for meeting calcium RDAs? Sci Aliments 2006; 26: 505-515. December 2006.
[8] Ciqual. Nutritional values for whole almonds and Gruyère cheese.
[9] Shlisky J and al. Calcium deficiency worldwide: prevalence of inadequate intakes and associated health outcomes, Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2022;1512: 10-2. June 2022.
[10] Diabetes and obesity MG. Vegans, vegetarians: what are the nutritional risks? March 2021.
[11] Appleby P, Roddam A, Allen N, Key T. Comparative fracture risk in vegetarians and nonvegetarians in EPIC-Oxford. Eur J Clin Nutr 2007 ; 61: 1400-6. December 2007.
[12] MSD manual. Hypocalcemia. Revised in September 2023.
[13] Cerin. Meeting recommended calcium intake: is it possible without dairy products? March-April 2014.
[14] Dairy know-how. Calcium and bioavailability. February 2019.
[15] Guéguen L, Pointillart A. The bioavailability of dietary calcium. J Am Coll Nutr 2000; 19: 119S-136S. April 2000.
[16] National Institute of Health. Calcium. Revised in January 2024.
[17] Cerin. Meeting recommended calcium intake: is it possible without dairy products? March-April 2014
[18] Ciosek Z, Kot K, Kosik-Bogacka D, Łanocha-Arendarczyk N, Rotter I. The Effects of Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Fluoride, and Lead on Bone Tissue. Biomolecules. 2021; 11(4):506. March 2021).