Calcium Intake in Bone Health: A Focus on Calcium-Rich Mineral Waters

Abstract

Calcium is an essential element that plays numerous biological functions in the human body, of which one of the most important is skeleton mineralization. Bone is a mineralized connective tissue in which calcium represents the major component, conferring bone strength and structure. Proper dietary calcium intake is important for bone development and metabolism, and its requirement can vary throughout life. The mineral composition of drinking water is becoming relevant in the modulation of calcium homeostasis. In fact, calcium present in mineral drinking waters is an important quantitative source of calcium intake. This, together with its excellent bioavailability, contributes to the maintenance of the bone health. This article aims to examine studies that assessed the bioavailability of the calcium contained in calcium-rich mineral waters and their impact on bone health, including original data collected in a recent study in humans.

Keywords: Calcium; bone metabolism; calcium homeostasis; calcium-rich water; mineral water.

Figure 1

Schematic representation of the study design and procedures. V1: baseline medium-mineral calcium-rich water. V2: +3 weeks of calcium-rich water. V3: baseline low mineralized and low calcium-content water. V4: +3 weeks of low calcium-content water.

Figure 2

Comparisons between the mean value of 24 h urinary calcium at baseline, before consumption of the calcium-rich water (V1), and the mean value of 24 h urinary calcium after the 3 week period of intake of the calcium-rich water (V2), and between the mean value of 24-h urinary calcium under basal conditions, at the end of the “wash-out” phase, before starting intake of water B (V3), and the mean value of 24 h urinary calcium at the end of the 3 week period of intake of water B (V4), after excluding urinary calcium values according to the preliminary verification. The error bars indicate the standard error of mean. * = statistical significance.