Calcium
 

The most abundant mineral in the body is Calcium. It is so common that many daily foods or over the counter antacid tablets are fortified with Calcium. We need it to contract our muscles, expand and contract our blood vessels. Calcium is also used to transmit impulses in our nervous system and helps us secrete hormones. Still, all of these functions use less than 1% of the body's total calcium.

The rest of the Calcium in the body is used in our bones and teeth, forming the support structures of our hardest biological components. Our bones may not seem to change to us, but on a microscopic level, they are always changing. The blood absorbs and re-deposits new calcium to bones everyday of your life. The only part of this process that changes is that rate at which this process occurs. In aging individuals, especially in postmenopausal women, the bone loss exceeds formation. This will eventually lead to osteoporosis. A good supplement may slow down or in some cases reverse the bone breakdown that comes with age.