Calcium ― Chemistry, Analysis, Function and Effects

Calcium’s importance in health and disease is clear when listing its multiple roles in the body, which include building strong bones and teeth, vascular calcification, muscle function, hormonal regulation and maintaining a normal heartbeat. This book will examine these roles and will also cover areas such as chemical analysis, sources of calcium based on geography, influence of Vitamin D, hypercalcemia and the effects of dietary calcium.

This edited volume will pool knowledge across scientific disciplines in a way that increases its applicability to a wide range of audiences and fills the gap identified in providing comprehensive synopses of food substances. Chemists, analytical scientists, forensic scientists, food scientists, as well as course lecturers and university librarians, will all benefit from this title.

Victor R. Preedy is a senior member of King's College London (Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry) and King's College Hospital (Professor of Clinical Biochemistry; Hon). He is attached to both the Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences Division and the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics. He is also Director of the Genomics Centre and a member of the School of Medicine. Professor Preedy graduated in 1974 with an Honours Degree in Biology and Physiology with Pharmacology. He gained his University of London PhD in 1981 and in 1992, he received his Membership of the Royal College of Pathologists. Professor Preedy was elected as a Fellow of the Institute of Biology in 1995 and to the Royal College of Pathologists in 2000. Since then he has been elected as a Fellow to the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health (2004) and The Royal Institute of Public Health and Hygiene (2004). In 2009, Professor Preedy became a Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health and in 2012 a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. During his career, Professor Preedy has worked at the National Heart Hospital (part of Imperial College London) and the MRC Centre at Northwick Park Hospital. He has collaborated with research groups in Finland, Japan, Australia, USA and Germany. He is a leading expert on nutritional and food sciences and has a long standing interest in how food, food quality, nutrition and diet affect wellbeing and health. He has lectured nationally and internationally. To his credit, Professor Preedy has over 600 publications, which includes peer-reviewed manuscripts based on original research, abstracts and symposium presentations, reviews, books and volumes.