Question

Ellie is a 60-year old postmenopausal sedentary female of Asian descent with a BMI of 18. She is currently taking care of her 82-year old mother who fell and broke her hip. Ellie goes out with friends twice a week for Happy Hour, and usually has no more than 2 drinks. Since living with her mother, she’s cut down on her smoking, but still smokes about 5 cigarettes per day and a little more when she’s out with friends. Ellie’s diet consists of lean protein, fruits and some starchy vegetables, but no dairy as she’s lactose intolerant and has been since she was a child.

Question : What is Ellie’s calcium RDA? Consider her diet and discuss whether calcium supplementation is appropriate. If so, explain the type of supplement that will best meet her needs and how you came to this conclusion. If you don’t believe calcium supplementation is necessary, explain how you came this conclusion and provide examples of foods that will help Ellie meet her needs. Include in your response specific data, facts, examples, key terminology

Answer 1

Ellie is a 60 year old female. So, her recommended daily allowance of calcium is 1200 mg. Her diet mainly consists of lean proteins fruits and starchy vegetables. She is not taking any dairy products that contain calcium because of lactose intolerance. Therefore, Ellie must take calcium supplements. The type of calcium supplement that Ellie can take is calcium carbonate. Among the available calcium supplements calcium carbonate has the highest elemental calcium with 41%. It can be taken along with the food and is tolerated well by most individuals.