Minerals & Muscle Health Vol. 1: CALCIUM

ByDeidra Skappak

The pivotal discovery of calcium as the only ion able to produce muscle contraction was made by Lewis Victor Heilbrunn in 1947. Since then, the role of calcium in the skeletal muscle has been clarified as the essential protagonist of intracellular signalling activity, metabolism, tissue formation, maturation, and regeneration.

Calcium binds to proteins that control the interaction between actin & ysoin. This process is called “excitation-contraction coupling”

Other Functions of Calcium:

1. Nerve Signalling

2. Blood Vessel Movement

3. Hormone Release

How Calcium Triggers Muscle Contractions:

  1. An action potential travels along the muscle cell membrane.
  2. Voltage-gated calcium channels open, allowing calcium to flow into the cell.
  3. Calcium binds to troponin, which moves tropomyosin away from the myosin binding sites on actin.
  4. Myosin heads bind to actin, causing the filaments to slide past each other.
  5. The muscle fibre contracts.

CALCIUM in different types of muscle:

Smooth Muscle: Calcium binds to calmodulin, which activates myosin light chain kinase (an enzyme that transfers a phosphate group into energy) this kinase phosphorylates myosin, which then binds to actin.

Cardiac Muscle: Calcium enters the cell through voltage-gated calcium channels, and then binds to troponin C. This moves the troponin complex away from actin, allowing myosin to bind.

RDI for CALCIUM by age:

1 – 3 yrs: 500mg

4 – 8 yrs: 700mg

9 – 18 yrs: 1,000 – 1,300mg

19 – 70 yrs: 1,000mg

70 + yrs: 1,300mg

HIGH CALCIUM foods:

Swiss Cheese: 410mg/38g serving

Cheddar Cheese: 330mg/43g serving

Greek Yogurt: 208mg/100g serving

Arugula: 13g/2000 cals

Spinach: 12g/2000 cals

Dill Pickles: 9g/2000 cals

As you can see above, you would need to intake a significant amount of vegetables to get the recommended daily intake of CALCIUM. Animal sources are highly bioavailable in small amounts in order to reach the optimal level for your age.

If you have any comments, questions or concerns about CALCIUM and how it relates to your muscle health don’t hesitate to reach out.

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