According to the NHS, as well as building strong bones and teeth, the mineral regulates muscle contractions – including heartbeat – and ensures blood clots normally.
A lack of it could lead to rickets in children and osteomalacia or osteoporosis in adults.
It can be found in a number of foods, famously dairy products such as milk and cheese.
Additional dietary sources include green leafy vegetables, soya beans, tofu and nuts.
The NHS believes that most people should be able to get enough calcium through food.
They recommend adults take 700mg a day.
Some people, however, need to take calcium supplements to help them get enough.
This could be people who have suffered, or who are at risk of, osteoporosis, or its precursor, osteopenia.
There’s research that calcium can prevent high blood pressure, and it may also be prescribed to control high levels of magnesium, phosphorus and potassium in the blood.
Certain groups are at risk of calcium deficiency, including post-menopausal women and those who are lactose intolerant or vegan.
However, taking high supplement doses – more than 1,500mg – can be dangerous, according to the NHS.
They warn it could trigger stomach pain and diarrhoea.
However, having too high a concentration of calcium in the blood can also trigger a condition called hypercalcemia, which can prove life-threatening.
Initial symptoms may include headaches and fatigue, but it may start to affect your kidneys – causing excessive thirst and urination, as well as kidney stones – and triggering abdominal pain, nausea, constipation, vomiting and decreased appetite.
As it progresses it can also affect your heart, muscles, bones and even cause depression, memory loss and irritability.
What’s more, according to the Sepsis Alliance, a risk with kidney stones is a kidney infection, which can lead to sepsis.
Daily Express :: Life and Style Feed
