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
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