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A few weeks ago, I wrote about calcium deficiency — and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. What gets me is the fact that we can be deficient for years without noticing, until something major happens. And bone loss is major.
I’m right in the age group where this starts to matter. I’m also postpartum and breastfeeding, which apparently puts me at even higher risk. Oh, the joy.
I drink milk with my coffee everyday, multiple times a day. I live in France, so dairy is basically unavoidable. I’d like to think I’m not deficient. But "I eat a lot of cheese" isn't exactly a rigorous assessment of my calcium status.
So this week’s question: what can we actually feel and notice that points to calcium deficiency before osteoporosis becomes our reality? I’d love to know the warning signs before I find out the hard way. 🙏🏼
What can we actually feel before osteoporosis develops?
The answer is not what we want to hear: Nearly nothing.
Osteoporosis has been described as a silent disease. Accurately, it seems. It happens gradually over time, without pain, and potentially without warnings. The first sign for many woman is a fracture from something as minor as a cough or a stumble.
Still, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t soft signals worth paying attention to.
Signs your bones might be flagging
Note: None of these are specific to calcium deficiency alone. They overlap with a lot of other conditions. Honestly, I hate that I can't give you cleaner answers here. But we’re complicated.
Here’s what’s worth noticing:
Muscle cramps and twitching. Especially in your legs and feet at night, or twitching around your face and hands. Calcium plays a direct role in muscle function. When levels drop, you feel it in your muscles.
Tingling or numbness. In your fingers, toes, or around your mouth. This is a classic sign of low calcium affecting your nervous system.
Unexplained fatigue, low mood, or poor appetite. These are less specific, but consistently show up in women with low calcium status.
Back pain after pregnancy or in perimenopause. New or worsening mid-back pain can reflect vertebral compression fractures. This means bone loss has progressed.
Height loss. Measurable height loss over months or years. This sounds crazy, especially if you’re young! But it can happen during or just after pregnancy. Once again, the joy.
Dental changes. Loose teeth, receding jawbone, or chronic gum disease can be an early oral sign of broader skeletal bone loss.
As I said, none of these symptoms are specific to calcium deficiency.
Muscle cramps could be magnesium.
Fatigue could be iron or vitamin B12.
Tingling could be vitamin D.
Back pain could be a hundred things.
The only way to actually know what’s going on is through triangulating blood tests (e.g., calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, parathyroid hormone), your diet, life stage, and health history.
Symptoms can prompt you to ask the question, but they can’t answer it.
A note on vitamin D
If you already know you’re prone to vitamin D deficiency (and a lot of us seem to be these days), take note: low vitamin D directly impairs calcium absorption.
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If you think calcium might be a problem for you, here’s where you can start:
🦷 Track these symptoms for two weeks.
Muscle cramps (especially at night), tingling in fingers or around your mouth, and unexplained low mood. If they're happening regularly, that's your cue to book a blood test.
🩸 Ask your doctor for this specific panel.
Calcium, vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D), magnesium, and PTH (parathyroid hormone). These four together can give you a better picture of your bone health status.
🥛 Hit 1,000 mg of calcium from food today.
That's roughly 3 servings of dairy: a glass of milk, a yogurt, and a matchbox-sized piece of cheese. If you're breastfeeding, your target is closer to 1,300 mg.
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