NOW Calcium Citrate Vcaps is an optimal vegetarian formula designed to support bone structure. Calcium Citrate is a readily digested and absorbed form of Calcium. The trace minerals (as amino acid chelates) and Vitamin D (as Ergocalciferol - a vegetarian source) are added because of their essential role in bone metabolism.
Calcium is the chief supportive element in bones and teeth. Calcium salts make up about 70 percent of bone by weight and give your bone its strength and rigidity.
Almost all of the calcium in the human body is held in the bones and teeth. The remaining 1 percent of calcium circulates in the bloodstream, where it performs a variety of important functions. It helps to contract muscles and helps regulate the contractions of the heart. It plays a role in the transmission of nerve impulses and in blood clotting.
Calcium is involved in the stimulation of contractions of the uterus during childbirth and in milk production. It also regulates the secretion of various hormones and aids in the functioning of various enzymes within the body. Since vitamin C is important for so many necessary bodily functions, taking a liquid mulitvitamin that is rich in vitamin C is advised.
When we take Calcium, it absorbed in the small intestine and passes from there either into the bloodstream or ultimately into the bones. The most efficient absorption of calcium is dependent on the presence of vitamin D in the body, which is a key ingredient in the various hormones that enable calcium to pass from the digestive system into the blood or bones.
Similarly, there are optimal ratios of phosphorus to the amount of calcium consumed that permit calcium to be more completely utilized. Hormonal secretions of the parathyroid and thyroid glands (parathyroid hormone and calcitonin, respectively) also help maintain calcium equilibrium in the blood.
These regulatory mechanisms help to prevent a deficiency in calcium from developing in the bloodstream. When such a deficiency does develop, parathyroid hormone acts to transfer calcium from the bones in order to maintain the mineral's all-important presence in the bloodstream. This of course strips your bones of their calcium and in turn weakens your bones, making them more brittle and subject to breaking.
NOW Foods was founded in 1968 under the belief that good health was not a luxury available only to the wealthy. For the past forty-five years, they have made it their life's work to offer health food and nutritional supplements of the highest quality, at prices that are fair and affordable to all those who seek them.
Today, NOW Foods is one of the top-selling brands in health foods stores, an award-winning manufacturer, a respected advocate of the natural product industry, and a leader in the fields of nutritional science and methods development. And while they have grown considerably over the past four decades, one thing has never changed – their commitment to providing products and services that empower people to lead healthier lives.