There are a lot of great duos out there from peanut butter and jelly to Batman and Robin. There is also a less iconic duo that has a really important role in our bodies, and some history worth sharing too. Calcium and vitamin D are an important pair and have good reason to be in your glass of milk.
Calcium is found naturally in milk and provides many benefits including, building and maintaining strong bones and teeth. It also plays a key role in nerve function, muscle contraction, and blood clotting. The human body doesn’t produce calcium naturally, so consuming it as part of a healthy diet is essential.
Vitamin D is produced by our bodies when our skin takes in the sun but it is found in very few foods naturally. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium, which is why it has become a supplement to milk. So together, calcium and vitamin D, help your body absorb and process the calcium it needs. That’s some serious friendship.
Milk is the perfect place for vitamin D to team up with calcium. Milk provides 300mg of calcium per 8-ounce serving. The addition of vitamin D, to help your body absorb it, makes the beverage pretty important. Milk is an excellent natural source of calcium and other nutrients, making it hard to replace with other foods.
These BFFs haven’t known each other forever, though. They became best buds during the 1930s in an effort to eradicate a childhood bone disorder known as rickets. Rickets was occurring in children with a vitamin D deficiency, and thus not absorbing enough calcium, causing weak bones. Around this time scientists were starting to understand minerals like calcium and phosphorus and their key role in bone development. Due to this, Vitamin D was added to milk, and the BFFs have been together ever since as the star duo of milk’s 9 essential nutrients.
