Calcium is an important and very necessary mineral for the human body, in addition to building bones and keeping them healthy, calcium enables our blood to clot, our muscles to contract, and our heart to beat.
Every day, we lose calcium through our skin, nails, hair, sweat, urine, and feces. Our bodies cannot produce its own calcium. That’s why it’s important to get enough calcium from the food we eat. When we don’t get the calcium our body needs, it is taken from our bones. This is fine once in a while, but if it happens too often, bones get weak and easier to break.
When you don’t get enough calcium, you could suffer from calcium deficiency which could be identified by certain symptoms.
We share a list of the most common signs that your body needs calcium desperately.
1 Dry Skin
Hypocalcemia or the lack of calcium in your body can harm your skin, this makes your skin look scaly and dry. It has also been discovered that calcium deficiency has a close link to the development of skin problems such as eczema and psoriasis.
2 Fatigue
Low levels of calcium can cause insomnia or sleepiness.
People tend to experience:
extreme fatigue
lethargy
an overall feeling of sluggishness
lack of energy
Fatigue associated with calcium deficiency can also cause lightheadedness, dizziness, and brain fog, which involves a lack of focus, forgetfulness, and confusion.
3 Depression
Calcium deficiency has been linked to mood disorders, including depression, though the evidence is lacking.
Anyone who suspects that a calcium deficiency is contributing to depressive symptoms should ask a doctor to check their levels. Calcium supplements could help to manage these symptoms.
4 Insomnia
Insomnia is a sleep disorder that is characterized by difficulty falling and/or staying asleep. People with insomnia have one or more of the following symptoms:
Difficulty falling asleep
Waking up often during the night and having trouble going back to sleep
Waking up too early in the morning
Feeling tired upon waking
Paresthesia refers to a burning or prickling sensation that is usually felt in the hands, arms, legs, or feet, but can also occur in other parts of the body. The sensation, which happens without warning, is usually painless and described as tingling or numbness, skin crawling, or itching. Most people have experienced temporary paresthesia, a feeling of “pins and needles” at some time in their lives when they have sat with legs crossed for too long, or fallen asleep with an arm crooked under their head. It happens when sustained pressure is placed on a nerve.
6 Frequent illness
Calcium plays an important role in maintaining a healthy immune system as it helps your body battle against viruses and bacteria. A deficiency of calcium reduces your body’s resistance against pathogen attacks and as a result, you’ll fall sick, get colds, cough, and sneeze more often.
7 Brittle nails
A calcium deficiency may lead to dry, broken, and brittle nails. It can also contribute to alopecia, a condition that causes hair to fall out in round patches.
8 Difficulty swallowing
calcium deficiency can also lead to dysphagia or difficulty in swallowing. This feeling of tightness is caused by poor contractions of the muscles in your throat. In severe cases, it may even lead to spasms in the larynx and unusual voice changes.
9 Toothaches
When the body lacks calcium, it pulls it from sources such as the teeth. This can lead to dental problems, including weak roots, irritated gums, brittle teeth, and tooth decay.
Also, calcium deficiency in infants can delay tooth formation.
10 Muscle cramps
Muscle aches, cramps, and spasms are the earliest signs of a calcium deficiency. People tend to feel pain in the thighs and arms, particularly the underarms when walking and otherwise moving.
A calcium deficiency can also cause numbness and tingling in the hands, arms, feet, legs, and around the mouth.
These sensations may indicate a more severe deficiency.
These symptoms can come and go, but they do not disappear with activity, and a person may have to wait them out.
Bonus. 8 Signs That Means You Need More Magnesium In Your Body
1. Severe Headaches
Magnesium is a vital mineral for healthy blood flow and strong blood vessels. If you are short of magnesium the blood vessels in the brain can expand and narrow too quickly, this can cause severe headaches. A sufficient amount of magnesium will reduce the risk of quick changes in the blood vessels which will rid of extreme headaches.
2. Constant Fatigue
Cells in your body use magnesium to create energy. If you don’t have enough magnesium, you will not be able to create enough energy in your body. This can lead you to feel constantly tired and you will not have enough energy to be active for throughout the day.
3. Constipation
Magnesium helps with digestion in your body. A lacking in this mineral can cause problems with your intestinal functions which leads to regular constipation.
4. Stress And Anxiety
Magnesium is an essential element for building a healthy and strong nervous system and is helps you to feel relaxed. With a lack of magnesium, you will constantly feel stressed and nervous for no reason. This can lead to serious problems like depression and mental health issues.
5. Acid Reflux
Magnesium deficiency will cause digested food and stomach acid to come back up to the esophagus. This leads to a acidic burning sensation which is commonly known as heartburn.
6. Fragile Bones
Magnesium helps you to have strong bones as it increases the calcium level in the blood. A deficiency will make the bone fragile which will increase the risk of developing bone diseases and fractures.
7. Regular Muscle Cramps And Stifness
Magnesium and vitamins D,E and B can prevent muscle cramps. Therefore, if your are lacking magnesium then you have a chance of suffering regular muscle cramps, stiffness and pain.
8. Cravings For Sugary Food
A strong craving for sugary food means that you are short of magnesium in your body. This can lead to obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure as you will constantly consume sugar.
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