How to supplement calcium for pregnant women? When is the best time to supplement calcium for pregnant women?

It is a very common thing for the human body to supplement calcium. Normally, regardless of gender, age or status, we all eat calcium-supplementing foods regularly. Calcium supplementation is also needed during pregnancy. Calcium is very important for the healthy growth and development of our body.

How to supplement calcium for pregnant women

1. Maintain appropriate amount of outdoor activities

Vitamin D can regulate calcium and phosphorus metabolism and promote calcium absorption. Outdoor activities can get more sunlight. As long as you spend more than half an hour outdoors in the sun every day, you can synthesize enough vitamin D. However, taking too much can cause side effects such as loss of appetite, fatigue, arrhythmia, nausea, and vomiting.

2. Reduce oxalic acid intake

After pregnancy, many pregnant mothers start to pay attention to eating more vegetables and fruits. However, some astringent vegetables contain oxalic acid, which can combine with calcium in the intestine to form insoluble precipitation, affecting calcium absorption. Therefore, it is recommended that pregnant mothers eat 500-750 grams of vegetables and fruits every day. You can also blanch these vegetables in water to remove the astringency before cooking.

3. Reduce phytic acid intake

For example, rice and flour contain phytic acid, which combines with calcium in the digestive tract to produce phytic acid calcium magnesium salt that cannot be absorbed by the human body, greatly reducing the body's absorption of calcium. Therefore, pregnant mothers can soak rice in a proper amount of warm water for a while, so that the phytase in the rice will decompose most of the phytic acid; and the phytase secreted by the fermented pasta can also hydrolyze the phytic acid in the flour to avoid affecting the body's absorption of calcium.

4. Reduce phosphoric acid intake

For example, carbonated drinks, cola, coffee, hamburgers, etc. Under normal circumstances, the calcium: phosphorus ratio in the human body is 2:1. However, if pregnant mothers consume too much carbonated drinks, cola, coffee, hamburgers, pizza, animal liver, French fries and other foods containing a lot of phosphorus, the calcium: phosphorus ratio can be as high as 1:10-20. In this way, excessive phosphorus will "drive" calcium out of the body.

5. Reduce fatty acids and oily foods

Fatty acids (especially saturated fatty acids) decomposed from fat can form insoluble substances with calcium in the gastrointestinal tract, which reduces the absorption rate of calcium. Therefore, pregnant mothers should arrange their meals reasonably and avoid eating too greasy food. At this time, pregnant mothers can eat some easily digestible foods, such as biscuits, steamed buns, toast, cakes, etc., and eat more water-rich vegetables and fruits, which can replenish water, vitamin C, B vitamins and inorganic salts such as calcium and potassium, and can also reduce the discomfort of pregnancy.

When is the best time to supplement calcium for pregnant women?

Calcium supplementation starts in the second trimester.

Because the early pregnancy is the period of formation of various tissues and organs of the embryo, the nutritional status of pregnant mothers is crucial to the continued growth and normal development of the fetus. At this time, the calcium demand of pregnant women is roughly the same as that of normal people, so there is no need for special calcium supplementation. In the second trimester, calcium supplementation should begin, because starting from about April of pregnancy, the daily calcium demand of pregnant mothers gradually increases to 1000-1200 mg. At this time, the amount of calcium contained in the daily diet can no longer meet the growth needs of the baby, so the remaining calcium required must be taken from calcium-containing foods or high-quality calcium supplements. In the late pregnancy, calcium supplementation is still very necessary, because the late pregnancy is the period of fastest fetal growth and development. The calcium content in the daily diet of pregnant mothers cannot meet his requirements, so he "grabs" from the body of pregnant mothers. During this period, pregnant women should match nutrition according to their own physical conditions to ensure that calcium is increased by 700 mg per day.

Reasons why pregnant women need calcium supplements

Before we start discussing the best time for pregnant women to take calcium supplements, we need to first figure out why we need calcium supplements. The reasons for pregnant women to take calcium supplements mainly come from two aspects: the mother's own protective mechanism and the needs of fetal development. As the fetus continues to grow, pregnant mothers need to supply him with more calcium every day to ensure that the fetus's heart rhythm and blood clotting ability need enough calcium to develop normally. Only with sufficient calcium can the baby's bones and teeth be strong; the heart, nerves and muscles can be healthy. The baby develops from a fertilized egg to a mature fetus, and all the nutrients come from the mother. In this process, the fetus will rob the mother of calcium. This is the instinct of life, don't blame him. Since you also need calcium, if you don't take in enough calcium for two people, your own health will be affected.

How should pregnant women choose calcium supplement products?

There are so many calcium supplements for pregnant women on the market. What kind of calcium supplements should we choose? What are the standards for good calcium supplements for pregnant women? In order to better meet the dual calcium needs of the fetus and pregnant women, the appropriate calcium intake for pregnant women is 1000-1200 mg. However, a dietary survey of pregnant women shows that the average daily calcium intake per person is only about 479 mg. Therefore, Chinese pregnant women should take an additional 521-721 mg of elemental calcium every day. When choosing calcium supplements, you should choose high-concentration calcium sources with high elemental calcium content, such as calcium carbonate sources, to fully meet the calcium supplement needs, thereby reducing the gastrointestinal burden of pregnant women caused by taking too many tablets.