How many years have you been lied to by calcium-supplementing foods? Bone soup and shrimp skin are all nonsense. These are the real calcium supplements

"Yesterday, the neighbor's old lady fell while going to the toilet and was hospitalized."

"It seems that the fall was quite serious. When I was sent to the hospital, it was said that it was a broken hip joint. It's more than auspicious. Her family is in a hurry."

"No way, this wrestling can be so serious?"

"They said it was called ' the last fall of life ' , and it was probably quite serious. Hey, we have to take care of our health so that we don't break a bone when we fall."

After finishing speaking, Uncle Wang and Sister-in-law Wang fell into silence.

"The last fall of life" mostly refers to the hip fracture of the elderly. Because the recovery of the elderly is slow and they need to stay in bed for a long time, the probability of complications is higher, such as pneumonia caused by poor breathing and inability to go to the toilet. Urinary system infection, skin ulceration caused by improper care, etc.

The one-year mortality rate of hip fractures in the elderly is about 20% to 30%. It is conceivable how important bones are to health.

1. The human body has 206 bones, but the Chinese only have 204. Why?

For a long time, the number of human bones we have learned in textbooks is 206, which are divided into three parts: 29 skull bones, 51 trunk bones, and 126 limb bones, which are the same for both men and women. But in fact, surveys show that most Chinese only have 204 bones .

In the 1990s, Chinese scientist Wan Yubi published a report in the "Acta Anatomy", and the survey showed that most people in China only have 204 bones. He selected 615 people from different provinces in China, with different ages and genders, and the results showed that 27% of these Chinese had 206 bones, and 73% had only 204 bones.

Later, British scientist Pfitzner conducted the same survey on Europeans and Americans, and the results showed that 37% of Europeans and Americans had 204 bones, and 63% had 206 bones. Through these two surveys, it can be found that most Chinese have 204 bones, while most Europeans and Americans have 206 bones.

Why is there such a strange phenomenon?

According to the natural law of Darwin's theory of evolution "natural selection, survival of the fittest", this is the result of continuous evolution of human beings .

In the process of long-term evolution, human beings have learned to "walk upright", and the bones are constantly adapting to this feature. Most Chinese people only have 2 phalanges on the fifth toe , while Europeans and Americans have 3 phalanges, because there are mountains and hills in Europe, and their stature is relatively tall, running and hunting in this environment, the soles of their feet need more Great grip , which makes most Europeans and Americans retain three phalanges .

However, most of the terrain in Asia is relatively flat, and Asians are more flexible, so the three phalanges play little role. Over time, the third phalanx of the little toe gradually degenerates and disappears.

2. What kind of life do the bones in your body have?

Bones play a very important supporting and protective role. Compared with other human organs, bones change more obviously throughout life, and can generally be divided into four change periods.

·Embryonic stage

Skeleton begins to form at the seventh week of the embryo and matures as the body develops through puberty. At the 7th week of the embryo, the primary bony ring develops into the primary ossification center, then forms the diaphysis and metaphysis, and then continues to ossify to form the secondary ossification center. In general, the lower extremity bone development of females is earlier than that of males.

·Infant ~ adolescence

Before the age of 2, the bones are in a stage of rapid development. Boys are 2~12 years old, girls are 2~10 years old, and they are in the development slowdown period, and the growth rate is relatively stable, about 5~7 cm per year.

During puberty, boys are 12-16 years old and girls are 10-15 years old. This is the period of accelerated bone development , and the height can increase by about 25-30 cm. After puberty, the development of bones is completed and the height is relatively stable.

·Adolescence

In the youth of 20-30 years old, the bone becomes harder and stronger, more suitable for high-intensity exercise, and the bone mass increases slowly year by year; at the age of 30-40, the bone density is at its peak and relatively stable, while By the age of 40 to 50, the bone mass will be slightly lost, which is in the early stage of bone mass loss.

·Old age

In old age, the bone loss rate is rapid. Women generally lose bone mass 1 to 10 years after menopause, and men lose bone mass at a peak rate around 65 years old.

Therefore, we should pay special attention to calcium intake in adolescents and middle-aged and elderly people. Bone strength is formed during adolescence , and if you can supplement enough calcium, you can lay a solid foundation for later bone strength. The loss of bone calcium in the middle-aged and old age is accelerated , and it is even more necessary to supplement sufficient amounts of calcium to avoid osteoporosis, protect bones, and prevent fractures.

3. Foods that really supplement calcium, not shrimp skin and bone soup

The older generation emphasizes "supplementing form with form". When it comes to calcium supplementation, stewed bone soup and eating shrimp skins are inseparable. They think that the whiter the bone soup, the more calcium it contains. In fact, the food that really supplements calcium is not bone soup or shrimp skin.

First of all, the calcium in the bones will not be dissolved into the soup through long-term cooking. Experiments have shown that the calcium content in 100 ml of bone broth is about 1.6 mg, which is even lower than that in tap water . Although shrimp skins contain 991 mg of calcium per 100 grams , the calcium in shrimp skins is not easily absorbed and utilized by the human body . We usually don’t eat a lot of shrimp skins, so bone soup and shrimp skins have little effect on calcium supplementation.

If we want to supplement calcium through diet, we can eat more of the following foods, which are high in calcium and easy to absorb. E.g:

1. Green leafy vegetables

Green leafy vegetables are high in calcium, some even higher than milk , and rich in potassium, magnesium, vitamin C and other nutrients. Common green leafy vegetables with high calcium content include shepherd's purse, mustard greens, green amaranth, sweet potato leaves, fungus, novice vegetables, rape hearts, etc., with a calcium content of about 100mg~300/100g.

2. Milk and dairy products

Milk and dairy products have high calcium content and are easily absorbed by the body. Most of them are liquids for easy eating, such as milk, yogurt, cheese, milk powder, etc. The calcium content is about 100~600mg/100g.

3. Beans and Nuts

Beans are also high in calcium and rich in vegetable protein, such as northern tofu, tofu skin, fermented bean curd, etc. The calcium content ranges from 80 to 200mg/100g. While nuts are high in calcium, they are also rich in high-quality fat and dietary fiber, such as hazelnuts, almonds, and pistachios. The calcium content is about 100~650mg/100g, which can be eaten appropriately.

Bones are very important to the human body. In the young, middle-aged and old age, more attention should be paid to supplementing calcium to make bones strong and strong. Especially friends with children and the elderly at home, use more of the above-mentioned ingredients for cooking, and supplement calcium through food, the accumulation of small amounts will eventually be beneficial!

References:

[1] "Chinese Food Composition Table 2018 Edition"

[2] Jin Hebiao. Are there 206 bones that make up the human body? [J]. Biology Teaching, 1993(3).

[3] How can the elderly eat calcium efficiently? .Beijing Youth Daily.2022-10-13

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