Did you know you have more calcium in your body than any other mineral?
Calcium is an essential food for our body. This mineral gives bones the strength and rigidity they need to cope with everyday activities. Actually, 99% of calcium is found in bones. In addition to making up most of bones and teeth, calcium also plays an important role in heart health, muscle function, and nerve communication.
To make sure you're getting enough calcium throughout the day, read everything you need to know about calcium in food, as well as which calcium-rich foods should be on your table every day.
Required daily dose of calcium
As we mentioned in the introduction, 99% of calcium in the body is stored in your bones and teeth. Until you reach older adulthood, your body is constantly rebuilding and strengthening bones and teeth, requiring regular calcium intake.
Besides, calcium literally keeps the heart muscle working. Calcium triggers cell signals that direct your muscles to contract and move you. These processes in the body require calcium in the diet, which is the most abundant mineral in the body. How much you need depends on your age.
Required daily dose of calcium according to age:
- Children 1–3 years old: 700 milligrams
- Children 4–8 years old: 1000 milligrams
- Children 9–18 years old: 1300 milligrams
- Adults 19–50: 1000 milligrams
- Women from 51 to 70: 1200 milligrams
- Men from 51 to 70: 1000 milligrams
- Women and men 71 years and older: 1200 milligrams
If your body does not get enough calcium and vitamin D to maintain important functions in the body, takes calcium from bones. This is called bone loss. Loss of bone mass makes the inside of your bones weak and brittle, which creates a risk of osteoporosis - a bone disease that makes them more prone to breaking. Low levels of calcium in the body especially affect a certain group of people, including:
- Postmenopausal women.
- People who have lactose intolerance and avoid dairy products.
- Women who have an eating disorder.
- People who do not eat red meat, fish or dairy products.
- People taking certain medicines for osteoporosis.
- People who have disorders of the parathyroid gland, bowel disease, or liver and kidney disease.
Unfortunately, A high percentage of calcium in the blood can also cause adverse effects on your health. These include kidney stones, frequent urination, stomach pain, nausea/vomiting and fatigue. It is rare to get too much calcium from food alone, but it is mostly about additional supplementation, so do not take dietary supplements on your own without consulting a doctor.
Calcium in food and vitamin D
Dietary calcium and vitamin D are often mentioned in the same sentence, and for good reason. Namely, the body needs vitamin D to absorb calcium. Without enough vitamin D, not enough of the hormone calcitriol (known as "active vitamin D") can be formed. This in turn prevents the absorption of calcium from the diet. In this situation, the body must draw calcium from its skeletal stores, which weakens existing bone and prevents the formation of strong, new bone.
Without enough calcium in the body, hypocalcemia occurs, also known as calcium deficiency disease, and as the name suggests, it occurs when there is a low level of calcium in the blood. A long-term lack of calcium in the body can lead to changes in the teeth, cataracts, changes in the brain and osteoporosis, which makes the bones brittle.
You can get vitamin D in three ways - through the skin through sunlight, diet and supplements.
Experts recommend a daily intake of 600 IU (international units) of vitamin D up to the age of 70. Men and women over 70 should increase their intake to 800 IU per day, which can also be obtained from supplements or foods rich in vitamin D, such as egg yolks, sea fish, liver and dairy products. The Institute of Medicine recommends no more than 4,000 IU per day for adults.
So, the coherence of vitamin D and calcium helps the processes in the body to take place continuously, making your body stay healthy and function normally. Since the body does not produce calcium, we need to get calcium through our diet. Calcium in food, or foods rich in calcium, are essential for our overall health. Now we're going to go over which calcium-rich foods you most likely already have in your fridge.
Foods that provide about 50 mg of calcium per average serving:
- Plain yogurt 1 tablespoon (40 grams)
- Swiss-style muesli 1 portion (50 grams)
- White bread 1 medium slice (36 grams)
- Whole wheat bread 1 thick slice (44 grams)
- Green cabbage 1 serving (95 grams)
- Raw white cabbage 1 portion (90 grams)
- Steamed broccoli 1 large portion (110 grams)
- Watercress 1 small bag (40 grams)
- Medium fried onion (150 grams)
- Canned tomatoes 1 can (400 grams)
- Red beans 2 tablespoons (70 grams)
- Cooked dry pasta 1 portion (230 grams of cooked mass)
- Cooked basmati rice 2 servings (1 serving = 5 tablespoons)
- Dried apricots (64 grams)
- 1 large orange (50 grams)
- Almonds (22 grams)
- Brazil nuts (30 grams)
Calcium in milk
"Drink milk, you will have strong bones" - is a sentence that we have heard countless times and said ourselves.
It's no news that calcium is crucial for healthy bones. Getting enough calcium from childhood through adulthood helps build bones and then helps slow bone loss as we age. However, is milk the best source of calcium? While calcium in milk may reduce the risk of osteoporosis and colon cancer, high intake may increase the risk of prostate cancer. In addition, dairy products can be rich in saturated fat, as well as retinol (vitamin A), which at high levels can, paradoxically, weaken bones.
Cow's milk has been the main source of calcium for many families for decades. Despite the rise in popularity of many dairy alternatives, cow's milk still dominates the milk market.
How much calcium is in cow's milk?
There are approximately 125 mg of calcium per 100 g of milk, regardless of how much milk fat it contains. Although cow's milk is an excellent source of calcium, many people are allergic to it, or develop an intolerance to it during their lifetime lactose (milk sugar). For this reason, many are turning to alternatives such as, for example, almond milk.
Almond milk is made by mixing almonds with water. The mixture is then passed through a strainer to remove the pulp, which leaves the "milk" behind. How much calcium is in almond milk? It may surprise you, but even though almonds have a lot of calcium, almond milk contains almost no calcium (natural) because it is lost during the production process. Many brands offer calcium-fortified almond milk – meaning they add a calcium supplement.
If you are lactose intolerant and nuts are not your favorite food, try eating cheese more often. Most cheeses are an excellent source of calcium. Parmesan has the most, with 331 mg of calcium per 28 g of Parmesan.
Calcium is important, but milk is not the only or even the best source of calcium. Let's look at other calcium-rich foods that our diet should include.
Calcium in fruit
Your diet largely determines how you feel physically and mentally. If you take in the vitamins and minerals needed for the basic functions of the body every day, you will be healthier, happier and more focused to what you are doing. A varied diet rich in fruits and vegetables will almost certainly provide you with all the necessary nutrients, however, we will now list the fruits that are the most rich in calcium.
Of all the calcium-rich fruits, apricots are at the very top of the list. Incorporate apricots into your meals by adding them to salads and breakfast cereals, or simply enjoy their natural flavor.
Besides apricots, kiwi is another fruit that not only contains vitamin C, but also has about 60 mg of calcium per fruit. Be sure to include kiwi in your diet or drink a glass of kiwi juice.
Oranges are also one of the best sources of calcium after vitamin C, and who doesn't love oranges? Berries, strawberries and raspberries they help maintain bad cholesterol and are therefore heart-healthy. Pineapple is an excellent source of calcium, but is not recommended in diet for diabetics.
What's important about eating fruit is that, in addition to calcium, you're getting other vitamins and minerals that are essential for your overall health. Don't forget the dried fruit! For example, dried figs are rich in antioxidants and fiber. They also have more calcium than other dried fruits. Furthermore, figs provide decent amounts of potassium and vitamin K.
Calcium in vegetables
Can you build strong bones with… vegetables?
Vegetables are probably the healthiest that you can eat of all the fruits that mother nature provides us. Not only can eating vegetables help you get the dietary calcium you need, it will improve your health in the long run. So grab a cutting board and a good, sharp knife and let's take a look at which vegetables are the richest in calcium!
Kale is still current on the tables, isn't it? Well, when it comes to calcium, it certainly is. Think you don't like kale? Try it in an interesting combination, such as the absurdly addictive (and simple) Kale Mango Salad with Creamy Ginger Dressing. You might change your mind quickly.
Actually, any green vegetable (green beans, cabbage, onion, etc.), and even microflora, is good to consume during any diet, and is generally packed with antioxidants, potassium and calcium. Any green vegetable, except spinach. Now you must be wondering – Why isn't spinach on this list? Yes, spinach contains a significant amount of calcium, but it also contains groups of molecules called oxalates that block our body from absorbing calcium. Therefore, spinach is great for health for many reasons, but calcium is not one of them.
Speaking of calcium in vegetables, we can't fail to mention tofu. Tofu is a product made from soy, and it is primarily represented among vegetarians and vegans. In order to obtain the characteristic shape of the cube, soy milk is coagulated in the process of separating the whey from the milk, usually using calcium sulfate. Thanks in part to this addition, tofu contains an incredible 680 mg of calcium per 100 g of this food. This makes 75% of the required daily amount of calcium.
Rounding off the list of the best sources of calcium in vegetables, we come across broccoli – the favorite vegetable of the crusaders. Half a cup of cooked broccoli stalks offers 31 milligrams of calcium, or 3 percent of the daily value, while the same amount of florets provides 21 milligrams, or 2 percent of the daily value. Rather than tossing out the stems and florets, we suggest incorporating both into your diet to maximize your intake of the nutritional benefits that broccoli has to offer.
How to keep calcium in the body?
It is not enough just to get calcium into the bones. What is really crucial is to keep it in the body, and here's how. First, reduce calcium loss by avoiding salt. Calcium in the bones tends to dissolve into the bloodstream and then pass through the kidneys into the urine. Sodium (salt) in the food you eat can significantly increase the loss of calcium through the kidneys.
Besides, try to get proteins from plants, and not from animal products. Proteins of animal origin - fish, poultry, red meat and eggs tend to draw calcium from the bones and encourage the passage of this mineral into the urine. Plant proteins such as beans, grains and certain vegetables do not seem to have this effect.
If you are an active smoker, know that you are also prone to the loss of calcium minerals from the body, and therefore you are more susceptible to osteoporosis. A study of identical twins showed that one smoking twin had a more than 40% higher fracture risk than the non-smoking twin.
Throughout this text, we talked about which foods are rich in calcium that you should consume, and keep in mind that calcium in food protects you from viruses and bacteria. Several recent studies have provided evidence that calcium channel blockers can reduce mortality from the infectious disease COVID-19. In addition, it has been shown that hypocalcemia, i.e. a reduced level of calcium in the blood, seriously affects the level of severity of the consequences that the virus leaves on our body.
Whether you want to do detoxification of the body to strengthen immunity, or strive for weight loss, FitProTeam has prepared programs for you that will push you towards achieving your goal. Take a look the experience of our student Milica Milić and contact us to help you to succeed in your intention.
