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Calcium & Menopause

During menopause, your body may experience a decrease in the amount of estrogen produced. Estrogen supports the absorption of calcium, which is required to prevent bone loss. Increasing your calcium intake through food and supplements may help bone loss.

  1. Menopause

    • According to the National Institute on Aging, the average age of a woman having her last period, menopause, is 51. Some women have their last period in their 40s; some have it later in their 50s.

    Calcium

    • Your bones use calcium to recreate new bone through the process of resorption and deposition. In menopausal women, absorption of calcium for new bone slows down. This increases the risk of osteoporosis.

    Recommended Intake

    • Regardless of your age when you experience menopause, you should manage your calcium intake. The Institute of Medicine publishes the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) for calcium. It recommends 1,000 mg of calcium a day for women 19 to 50 and 1,200 mg daily for women over 50.

    Absorption

    • In addition to estrogen, vitamin D also promotes calcium absorption; it enables normal mineralization of bone, bone growth and bone remodeling. A combination of vitamin D and calcium during menopause may increase absorption and prevent some bone loss.

    Sources of Calcium and Vitamin D

    • Some well-known sources of calcium are dairy products such as milk, cheese and yogurt, soy, fish such as sardines, salmon, tuna and mackerel, collard greens and molasses. You also can eat foods fortified with vitamin D, such as milk, yogurt, cereals and orange juice.

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