is known as "the cornerstone of life". It plays an important role in the development of bone, brain, tooth, as well as the prevention of lead poisoning for children. As children are just in the period of growth and development, the amount of calcium from the food is really limited to meet the physical needs of the body. As a result, apart from the normal food, parents should provide children with additional calcium supplement.

When parents give supplement calcium to children, there are some issues they shouldn't ignore:

Firstly, should be added with calcium supplements.
Vitamin D can effectively promote the absorption of calcium in the body. It plays an important role in the metabolism of calcium. Children only need 400 international units of vitamin D every day. In fact, vitamin D can be synthesized by the human body itself. Parents can occasionally bring children outside and take a sun bath; or choose some calcium preparations containing vitamin D.

Secondly, do not take calcium supplements containing phosphorus.
The main elements for the formation of bone are calcium and phosphorus, which have close relationship with each other. There is fixed proportion between the calcium and phosphorus taken in by human body. If there is too much phosphorus, the excessive part will react with the calcium and form calcium phosphate, which will then be excreted out of the body. It will surely lead to calcium loss. Especially for the infants and young children, excessive phosphorus will lead to serious consequences. As a result, Chinese nutrition experts strongly call for parents not to give infants and young children calcium supplements containing phosphorus!

Thirdly, magnesium will affect the absorption of calcium
Calcium and magnesium are divalent ions. The absorption of the two elements together will produce competitive effect in the body. For infants and young children, the amount of magnesium from food is enough to meet the needs of the body, so no additional amount of magnesium is needed. Excessive magnesium can not only affect the absorption of calcium, but also can lead to movement dysfunction. So it is recommended that parents should not blindly provide children with calcium supplements containing magnesium.

Fourthly, food with little salt is conducive to the absorption of calcium
Recent finding shows that calcium and sodium will compete with each other when they are reabsorbed in renal tubules. When people take in too much sodium, the absorption of calcium will be reduced in the body. World Health Organization suggests that, for Chinese people, the daily salt intake per person should be less than 6g. And for the infants and young children, the less the better.