Are you getting enough calcium? Do you even know?
As a daily Fairlife milk drinker, cottage cheese and Greek yogurt eater, I was surprised to learn I wasn’t hitting the mark.
Here’s a link to a free nutrient calculator to help you determine if you’re getting enough calcium.
Here’s what women need:
Age 19-50 years: 1,000 mg (milligrams) of calcium every day.
Age 51+ years: 1,200 mg of calcium daily.
Osteoporosis is a real threat and adequate calcium can help build and maintain strong bones. As well, your heart, muscles and nerves also need calcium to function properly.
Some studies suggest that calcium, along with vitamin D, may have benefits beyond bone health: perhaps protecting against cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure.
I’ve chosen to supplement after learning I was about 500mg shy of the daily requirement.
Make sure not to OVER supplement as this can have detrimental effects including kidney stones, stomach upset and constipation.
To maximize your absorption of calcium, take no more than 500 mg at a time. You might take one 500 mg supplement in the morning and another at night.
Coffee drinkers beware: caffeine can prevent calcium absorption so take your calcium supplements at night or 2 hours before drinking coffee.
Here are 20 calcium rich foods besides milk:
- Kale – one cooked cup 177 mg
- Yogurt – 8 ounces (or 1 cup) 448 mg of calcium
- Bok choy – one cup raw 74 mg of calcium
- Kefir – one cup 300-350 mg
- Broccoli – one cup chopped raw 43 mg (double in a cooked cup)
- Canned sardines – one 3.75-ounce can 351 mg
- Canned salmon – 3 ounces 241 mg
- Canned shrimp – 3 ounces 123 mg
- Hard cheese – Parmesan or Romano 300-335 mg of calcium per one ounce
- Cheddar cheese – 205 mg per ounce
- Part-skim mozzarella – 210 mg per ounce
- Turnip greens – chopped and cooked 1-cup serving 200 mg
- Cottage cheese – nonfat cottage cheese contains 97 mg per half-cup, 2% has 125 mg., and whole contains 93 mg
- Oranges – 65 mg per orange
- Seeds – 1 ounce (or 2 tablespoons) toasted sesame seeds 280 mg, 1 ounce chia seeds 179 mg
- Collard greens – one cup cooked and chopped 350 mg
- Almonds – one ounce 100 mg
- Whey protein powder isolate – 33g scoop 160 mg
- Edamame – One cup cooked edamame 100 mg
- Beans and lentils – Some varieties also have decent amounts of calcium, including winged beans, which supply 244 mg per cooked cup.
If you’d like support staying on top of your nutritional and health needs while managing the challenges of menopause, I gotchu – let’s talk about how we can work together.