Are you worried about getting enough calcium in your diet? Although worrying is not the best use of your time, your worries are not totally unfounded, especially if you eat little or no dairy product. Dairy products are some of the richest sources of calcium, but it is possible to meet your calcium needs without consuming dairy. If dairy products are not your thing you can still get the calcium your body needs.
Vegans, those who have allergies to dairy products or lactose intolerance can have a beautiful, strong and healthy skeleton too, but it requires a conscious effort and a consistent work. Do not worry, once it's a habit to eat foods rich in calcium and all the nutrients needed for proper calcium absorption, it does not seem like work at all, but rather delicious food to look forward to.
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What is the Great Thing About Calcium?
The main concern behind calcium intake is getting enough calcium to support a strong and healthy skeleton and thus avoid fragile bones / osteoporosis. The International Osteoporosis Foundation states that current estimates put the number of people with osteoporosis in more than 200 million people worldwide! In the USA. More than 30% of postmenopausal women have osteoporosis and resulting in 40% of those women have had a fracture related to frailty.
Regardless of your age, it is important to get enough calcium. Your calcium consumption habits today will dictate your skeletal health the rest of your life and keep your heart pumping.
Calcium is the most frequent mineral in the human body that represents approximately 1-2% of our body weight. (We'll wait while you do the math on that.) Our bodies use 99% of our calcium to maintain the skeleton and the teeth. For the sake of brevity and simple mathematics, we will work with the current RDR ( the recommended daily allowance) for calcium for men and women aged 19-50 years of 1000 mg of calcium as "enough". (To see other RDR, click HERE. )
Do not underestimate the importance of the remaining 1% of calcium in the human body. It uses important important functions such as contraction and relaxation of the muscles, this includes pumping the heart. If something affects the pumping of the heart, it has a role in blood pressure and in the general health of the blood vessels. In addition, that 1% also goes towards blood clotting, nerve function and proper release of the hormone .
A lot more is not better
For a large number of people the logic is that if a little is good and lots should be impressive! It works for money, legitimate friends, happiness and tree planting, but beyond that this logic is actually what causes a lot of problems. It's like bringing a puppy home. 1 puppy is good. 2 puppies can be more work than I expected. 16 puppies is a disaster for you, your carpet, your wallet and especially the puppies.
Excessive intake of calcium can displace the absorption of other minerals, and vice versa - it's a long history about the electrical charge and the minerals as a whole do not really get along. Think of lions and hyenas. In general, excessive calcium intake is not a problem for adult women, but rather the opposite. Children are another story, especially small ones. Young children too often have iron deficiency anemia due to excessive milk and therefore calcium intake.
Excessive consumption of calcium at any age, especially in the form of mega dosing with certain supplements, is also associated with constipation, deposit in places where calcium does not belong (clumsy) and kidney stones. Definitely a case where more is not better, but rather target a healthy amount on a regular basis. We'll talk a little more about supplements in a minute.
The Low Calcium Deficiency
In addition to not getting enough calcium on a regular basis, there are several other things that can cause calcium deficiency. Vitamin D, vitamin K and magnesium are necessary to properly absorb and use calcium. Minerals also need friends! These 3 friends all deserve their own attention as the deficiency can cause severe health problems.
For more brevity:
1.) Get your vitamin D levels checked ASAP.
2.) Vitamin D is found in sunlight, supplements and a little fortified foods and mushrooms.
3.) Vitamin K made internally by healthy bacteria and found externally in green products.
4.) Magnesium is a BIG deal and can be found in seeds, nuts and beans.
Back to our analogy of the lion and the hyena, too much competitive substance will block your abundance of calcium. High consumption of sodium (honest with yo'self) and high consumption of phosphorus (soda and coffee are common culprits).
Some things that can negatively affect your calcium and the best thing to discuss with your health profession instead of a stranger on the Internet include kidney disease, problems with parathyroid function, bariatric surgery and certain medications.
Signs and Symptoms of Calcium Deficiency.
Here is the best of calcium and the problem of finding a deficiency. Calcium is necessary to pump your heart. Your body prioritizes that as important and when you are calcium in your blood drops from any of the above mentioned problems, your body is thrown into its calcium stores to maintain the level in the bloodstream within the area that keeps the pumps from heart. What an awesome feature! Unfortunately, this masks calcium deficiency with a blood test because your body is determined to maintain that value in a range.
Therefore, calcium deficiency tests involve looking at the laboratory style of the bones and / or talking honestly about what you eat. Obtaining legitimate levels of magnesium is a similar process for the same reasons. The levels of vitamin D in serum (blood) say a lot about your calcium status because vitamin D is necessary for the absorption and utilization of calcium and magnesium.
Get real with yourself about how often you are eating foods rich in calcium (the list below) and foods rich in magnesium (seeds, nuts and fava beans). Pick up a vitamin D supplement, take it regularly, and then talk to your health care provider to see if more tests are needed in your case. Healthcare provider, not the Internet, a celebrity, your sister, your boss's second cousin, the exe, is removed twice ...
While it is super impressive and a point of gratitude that our bodies have a reserve of calcium to keep our heart pumping, there is bad news. Bad news that the reserve is your skeleton and if you are not constantly replenishing your reserves you will lose skeletal mass. In the long term, this results in osteoporosis later in life.
Back to the good news, the skeleton is actually a living tissue that is constantly breaking and building again. Getting the 1000 mg of calcium we discussed or more days that will not help you establish and maintain a healthy skeleton. Establishing a healthy calcium intake is important even if you have had a reduction in skeletal mass due to calcium deficiency. It prevents additional losses and promotes general health.
Excavation in Calci-YUM!
You loved that nutrition pun and you know it!
While it's a pack of real dairy products a powerful punch of calcium, it's also not a food that is for everyone. All together now: good for you, not for me. There are 53 other sources of calcium that range from tofu, to canned fish all the way to many herbs and spices. That said, herbs tend to provide only 2 to 13 mg of calcium, which is a drop in the 1000 mg bucket. What this means is if a recipe calls for a spice, double the amount you put in. If a recipe does not require any spices add them. If a recipe does not have any of these calcium-rich foods in it, add them.
If you are looking for non-dairy calcium sources here you go! In descending order (most calcium first) 53 impressive sources of calcium:
Tofu, canned sardines, canned salmon, kale vegetables, spinach, turnip, soybeans, mustard vegetables, beet vegetables, bok choy, Cannellini beans, sea beans, Swiss chard, zucchini, chickpea, beans, Brussels sprouts, green beans, oranges, green dandelions, black beans, broccoli, fennel Bulb, parsley, black eyed peas, watercrest, celery, basil, asparagus, romaine lettuce, weed dill, cumin, zucchini, summer squash, kelp, oregano , leeks, dried figs, blackstrap molasses, cloves, black pepper, garlic, mustard seeds, thyme and rosemary.
For a list of calcium-rich foods with calcium content per serving and useful recipe tips, click HERE.
What to look for in a Supplement
If you look at the list above and see that most of the foods are not your marmalade due to preferences, sensitivities, allergies or price range, an honest look at a quality supplement may be in order. In addition, foods and drinks enriched with calcium are another good option. Make sure that any milk replacement you choose has added calcium, but has no added sugar or carrageenan.
Supplement means in addition to NO instead of. Any type of supplement is intended to work with a healthy diet and lifestyle. No calcium supplement in the market will void a calcium-high sodium diet and the phosphorus pair with a sedentary lifestyle.
Your body can only absorb both at once. When looking for a calcium supplement, look for one that does not hit your stomach and then the kidneys with one full day of calcium at a time. Oh! Also look for a supplement that also contains friends of calcium, magnesium and vitamin D (specifically D3). Vitamin K will come from green products, but some supplements will add it. Make sure it is vitamin K2.
Also watch your research. If the label or ad only reads, "doctor recommended" and does not support that even scientific research does not buy it. Doctors also used to recommend cigarettes. How did that work out? Right. Now, if a doctor recommends it based on scientific research, it has some influence. See how the company is candid about research and how accessible they are.
Take AlgaeCal calcium supplements are an example. Not only do they put their research online in an easily accessible way, they link the research with the study in reality - nothing to hide. They go beyond that to offer recipes because they know they provide a supplement that works in addition to a healthy diet. When you look at what is in the product, it is calcium and your friends magnesium, vitamin D3 and vitamin K2. All that is the gold standard in the creation and sale of quality supplements.
It may sound like a lot of work to research your supplements, but keep some things in mind. Dietary supplements are self-regulated at best. Which means that there is no official agency that governs the quality and validity of the supplements. The FDA will only get involved if the supplement is discovered to be dangerous or completely deceptive. That means that someone has to take one for the team before regulation. In addition, what you ingest will end up in the bloodstream. Anything that enters the bloodstream is worthy of your time to get to know.
Thanks to AlgaeCal for sponsoring this article to spread important information about foods rich in calcium and calcium. It is nice to see a supplement company that does the work to create a valuable product that truly helps people and provides research for consumers to make an educated decision.
Calcium-rich plant foods
There is a belief that the only sources of calcium are milk and its derivatives but this is not the case since there are plant sources of calcium. In some cases, these sources provide calcium that is easier to assimilate than that which can be obtained from milk and its derivatives.
Vegetables with calcium
Vegetables rich in calcium are: spinach, kale, onion, watercress, chard and broccoli.
Spinach is one of the foods with more calcium . 100 grams of raw spinach contains 210 milligrams of calcium that can be reduced depending on the preparation. For example, boiled, its amount of calcium is reduced to 158 milligrams. However, spinach, although one of the foods that contain more calcium, are not recommended to avoid osteoporosis because they contain oxalates that are a substance that can prevent the assimilation of calcium and other minerals.
The kale is also a food very rich in calcium . 100 grams of kale has 150 milligrams of calcium. Calcium containing kale is absorbed by our body more easily than other foods because, among other things, cabbage does not contain oxalates like spinach.
Onion is a vegetable food, rich in trace elements and minerals, including calcium. The onion contains 20 milligrams of calcium per 100 grams. The onion, in addition to being a food with calcium , regulates stomach functions, it is diuretic and stimulates the appetite.
Watercress also has a considerable amount of calcium and other minerals such as magnesium, potassium, sodium, phosphorus, chlorine, sulfur, iron and iodine. 100 grams of watercress provide more than 20% of the recommended daily allowance of calcium recommended for an adult.
Legumes with calcium
Vegetable foods such as white beans, cooked chickpeas, lentils and soybeans are legumes rich in calcium-
Soy is a food very rich in calcium. Its calcium content is such that it approximates the amount of calcium in cow's milk. Soy also contains daidzein, an isoflavine that helps prevent bone decalcification as it prevents the loss of calcium from the bones and the calcium being excreted in the urine. The amount of calcium in soy is 102 milligrams per 100 grams of soybeans cooked without salt.
Cooked chickpeas are a food rich in calcium because it contains 134 milligrams of calcium per 100 grams. Chickpeas, although they have a good amount of calcium, also contain oxalate and filiates that hinder their absorption.
Lentils, known to be one of the most popular iron-rich foods, are also rich in other minerals, including calcium. The amount of calcium in the lentils is 51 milligrams calcium per 100 grams of lentils. As for the nutritional properties of lentils, it is also a food rich in protein, fiber, iron.
Fruits with calcium
Some nuts are also plant foods rich in calcium. Some of the nuts with more amount of calcium are nuts, hazelnuts and pistachios.
The nuts are vegetable foods very rich in calcium. The amount of calcium in nuts is such that they can replace milk in the diets of lactose intolerant people. Nuts, due to their large amount of calcium, help prevent osteoporosis since the calcium they contain helps keep bones in good condition and prevents their fragility. The nuts also help to promote proper growth and also strengthen the bones by the amount of calcium they contain.
Examples of nuts rich in calcium are almonds that have 240 milligrams of calcium per 100 grams, walnuts, with 170 milligrams per 100 grams, hazelnuts, whose calcium content is 140 milligrams per 100 grams and pistachios, which have 110 milligrams per 100 grams.
On the contrary, it should be noted the low amount of calcium they have, compared to the rest of nuts, chestnuts and dried figs.
Fruits in their natural state, also contain calcium, but in smaller quantities. Some fruits with calcium are strawberries, guava, fig, lemon, mango and apples.
Seeds with calcium
Chia contains 500% more assimilable calcium than milk.
Sesame contains more calcium than milk: 25 g of sesame cover 30% of daily needs.
Its cultivation is one of the oldest in humanity. It was widely used in ancient Egypt as a culinary ingredient. In the Hindu tradition, its seed represents the principle of life and is a symbol of immortality. In ancient Greece, Hippocrates (father of medicine), recommended it in his healing treatments.