The Importance of Eating Calcium

So this is something I feel really strongly about and I actually got into a heated ‘discussion’ with a trainer at my gym regarding this topic... One of the trainers was lecturing everyone on the fact that dairy is the “devils food”. I completely disagree. Yes, milk products have fat in them, yes, fat can cause heart disease related to the cholesterols. BUT, specifically for women, ladies, we only have until the age of around 29-33 to build up and adhere calcium to our bones. After that, the calcium wears off and if we don’t get enough, it can lead to osteoporosis! Yes, calcium supplements can be helpful for those of us who are lactose intolerant, but I am a big believer in getting appropriate vitamins from your diet, making supplements unnecessary. I understand that it is hard with the stress that we are all under and the ridiculous hours that we all work to make healthy choices for food all the time, but the area of calcium is one of the most important minerals to ensure is in your diet. And, lactose intolerant friends, yogurt is lactose free!! So, get your Chobani (my FAVORITE yogurt of all time) fix on and start making some bone history!! Yogurt can give you 20% of your daily calcium, and there are plenty of non-dairy calcium sources which i have listed below:

Food, Standard Amount Calcium (mg) Calories

Fortified ready-to-eat cereals (various), 1 oz 236-1043 88-106

Soy beverage, calcium fortified, 1 cup 368 98

Sardines, Atlantic, in oil, drained, 3 oz 325 177

Tofu, firm, prepared with nigarib , ½ cup 253 88

Pink salmon, canned, with bone, 3 oz 181 118

Collards, cooked from frozen, ½ cup 178 31

Molasses, blackstrap, 1 Tbsp 172 47

Spinach, cooked from frozen, ½ cup 146 30

Soybeans, green, cooked, ½ cup 130 127

Turnip greens, cooked from frozen, ½ cup 124 24

Ocean perch, Atlantic, cooked, 3 oz 116 103

Oatmeal, plain and flavored, instant, fortified,

1 packet prepared 99-110 97-157

Cowpeas, cooked, ½ cup 106 80

White beans, canned, ½ cup 96 153

Kale, cooked from frozen, ½ cup 90 20

Okra, cooked from frozen, ½ cup 88 26

Soybeans, mature, cooked, ½ cup 88 149

Blue crab, canned, 3 oz 86 84

Beet greens, cooked from fresh, ½ cup 82 19

Pak-choi, Chinese cabbage, cooked from fresh, ½ cup 79 10

Clams, canned, 3 oz 78 126

Dandelion greens, cooked from fresh, ½ cup 74 17

Rainbow trout, farmed, cooked, 3 oz 73 144

*Borrowed from USDA.gov

(FYI Daily calcium needs are- by age: 9 to 18 years: 1300 mg, 19 to 50 years: 1000 mg, 50+ years: 1200 mg)

And, for the brave people out there, my favorite source of Dairy calcium is Raw Milk and Raw Cheeses. Clean raw milk from grass-fed cows, is a balanced food in and of itself, some people solely live off of it. It was also used as a medicine to “cure” chronic and acute diseases in the early part of the last century. I switched to it on a suggestion by a co-worker, and it has totally changed my life! I cannot drink store bought pasteurized milk, it doesn’t taste as fresh, and I know that the animals are being mistreated in order to obtain that milk (that makes me sad- not sad enough to be vegetarian, but sad). Check out interesting info at Raw-Milk-Facts.com

Now, I don’t suggest this for people with lowered immune systems due to cancer, transplants, etc or babies and the elderly. There are risks with drinking/eating raw milk products such as Listeria monocytogenes, that can cause severe illness and death BUT raw milk has lactococcus lactis which is a bacteria that can kill off all listeria monocytogenes. Nonetheless, the risk is still there and you need to be aware of it.

If you are willing to try, go to a local dairy farm or co-op and grab a pint to try...it really is life changing!!

I think I have been pro-calcium enough! Plan your meals around ensuring that you have calcium in your diets, especially you ladies, when you have unbroken hips at the age of 80, you’ll thank me!!!

Good Health!!