Tag: Calcium

Taking of Calcium supplements are encouraged by the Doctors and are widely advertised.

You also have advertisements asking you take calcium tablets daily.

You are also intimidated by ads screaming that if you are over thirty and a woman, your bones are likely to break up!?

The Truth is.

You get these side effects.

Headaches

Dizziness.

Constipation.

Muscle pain.

Itchiness.

Might develop Kidney stones.

In a recent study in the journal Heart, researchers followed 23,980 German adults for an average of 11 years. They found that people whose diets included a moderate amount of calcium, about 820 milligrams daily, had a lower risk of a heart attack than those whose diets included little calcium. But those whose intakes were higher—more than 1,100 milligrams a day—did not have a lower heart-attack risk.

What’s more, when the researchers looked just at people who used supplements regularly, they found an 86 percent higher risk of heart attacks than in those who took no calcium supplements. The increase was the most pronounced among people who got their calcium from calcium-only supplements, suggesting that the pills themselves, not overall calcium intake, were the key factor driving the heightened heart-attack risk.

Foods That contain Calcium.

Dairy products (e.g., milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream),

Dark-green leafy vegetables (e.g., broccoli, spinach, bok choy)

Calcium-fortified foods (e.g., orange juice).

Vitamin D helps with the absorption of calcium.

Foods rich in vitamin D include: fortified dairy products, eggs, sardines, cod liver oil, chicken livers, and fatty fish.

Vitamin D is also made by the body as a result of exposure to the sun.

 

 How Much Calcium Needed for Humans.

Age	Daily Calcium Requirement (this includes your diet and supplements)
19 to 50	1000 mg
50+	1200 mg
pregnant or lactatingwomen 18+	1000 mg

 

CALCIUM CONTENT OF SOME COMMON FOODS	PORTION	CALCIUM*
Food Product – 250 to 300+ mg Ca
Buttermilk	1 cup/250mL	300 mg
Fortified orange juice	1 cup/250mL	300 mg
Fortified rice or soy beverage	1 cup/250mL	300 mg**
Milk – whole, 2%, 1%, skim, chocolate	1 cup/250mL	300 mg***
Milk, evaporated	1/2 cup/125 mL	367 mg
Milk – powder, dry	1/3 cup/75 mL	270 mg
Yogurt – plain, 1-2% M.F.	3/4 cup/175 mL	332 mg
Food Product – 160 to 249 mg Ca
Almonds, dry roast	1/2 cup/125 mL	186 mg
Beans – white, canned	1 cup/250 mL	191 mg
Cheese – Blue, Brick, Cheddar, Edam, Gouda, Gruyere, Swiss	1 ¼”/3 cm cube	245 mg
Cheese – Mozzarella	1 ¼”/3 cm cube	200 mg
Drinkable yogurt	4/5 cup/200 mL	191 mg
Frozen yogurt, vanilla	1 cup/250 mL	218 mg
Fruit-flavoured yogurt	3/4 cup/175 mL	200 mg
Ice cream cone, vanilla, soft serve	1	232 mg
Kefir (fermented milk drink) – plain	3/4 cup/175 mL	187 mg
Molasses, blackstrap	1 Tbsp/15 mL	180 mg
Salmon, with bones – canned	1/2 can/105 g	240 mg
Sardines, with bones	1/2 can/55 g	200 mg
Soybeans, cooked	1 cup/250 mL	170 mg
Food Product – 125 to 159 mg Ca
Beans – baked, with pork, canned	1 cup/250 mL	129 mg
Beans – navy, soaked, drained, cooked	1 cup/250 mL	126 mg
Collard greens – cooked	1/2 cup/125 mL	133 mg
Cottage cheese, 1 or 2%	1 cup/250 mL	150 mg
Figs, dried	10	150 mg
Instant oatmeal, calcium added	1 pouch/32 g	150 mg
Soy flour	1/2 cup/125 mL	127 mg
Tofu, regular – with calcium sulfate	3 oz/84 g	130 mg
Food Product – 75 to 124 mg Ca
Beans – baked, plain	1 cup/250 mL	86 mg
Beans – great northern, soaked, drained, cooked	1 cup/250 mL	120 mg
Beans – pinto, soaked, drained, cooked	1 cup/250 mL	79 mg
Beet greens – cooked	1/2 cup/125 mL	82 mg
Bok choy, Pak-choi – cooked	1/2 cup/125 mL	84 mg
Bread, white	2 slices	106 mg
Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)	1 cup/250 mL	77 mg
Chili con carne, with beans – canned	1 cup/250 mL	84 mg
Cottage cheese – 2%, 1%	1/2 cup/125 mL	75 mg
Dessert tofu	1/2 cup/100 g	75 mg
Okra – frozen, cooked	1/2 cup/125 mL	89 mg
Processed cheese slices, thin	1	115 mg
Turnip greens – frozen, cooked	1/2 cup/125 mL	104 mg
Food Product – under 75 mg Ca
Artichoke – cooked	1 medium	54 mg
Beans, snap – fresh or frozen, cooked	1/2 cup/125 mL	33 mg
Broccoli – cooked	1/2 cup/125 mL	33 mg
Chinese broccoli (gai lan) – cooked	1/2 cup/125 mL	46 mg
Dandelion greens – cooked	1/2 cup/125 mL	74 mg
Edamame (East Asian dish, baby soybeans in the pod)	1/2 cup/125 mL	52 mg
Fireweed leaves, raw	1/2 cup/125 mL	52 mg
Grapefruit, pink or red	1/2	27 mg
Hummus	1/2 cup/125 mL	50 mg
Kale – cooked	1/2 cup/125 mL	49 mg
Kiwifruit	1	26 mg
Mustard greens – cooked	1/2 cup/125 mL	55 mg
Orange	1 medium	50 mg
Parmesan cheese, grated	1 Tbsp/15 mL	70 mg
Rutabaga (yellow turnip) – cooked	1/2 cup/125 mL	43 mg
Seaweed (agar) – dried	1/2 cup/125 mL	35 mg
Snow peas – cooked	1/2 cup/125 mL	36 mg
Squash (acorn, butternut) – cooked	1/2 cup/125 mL	44 mg

*Approximate values. **Added calcium may settle to the bottom of the container; shake well before drinking. ***Calcium-enriched milk – add 100 mg per serving.

The calcium in soy beverage is absorbed at the rate of 75% of milk. The calcium in some foods such as sesame seeds, rhubarb, Swiss chard and spinach is not well absorbed, because of very high oxalate content, which binds the calcium. Therefore these foods have not been included.

Resources:

1.Consumer reports.org

2. Medicinenet.com.

3.paediatrics.application. org

4.osteoporosis.ca