I’m looking into this today… making sure we get enough calcium in our diet. Once again, The World’s Healthiest Foods has the information I need. Follow the link if you’d like more information about the serving size of each of these food items and how much calcium each one offers. The information on their website is in the form of a really handy chart. I’ve printed it and will keep it handy for easy referencing.
A couple points I found interesting, during my reading at The World’s Healthiest Foods:
- My 4 to 8-year olds (Naomi and Mikah) need 800 mg of calcium per day. My 9-18 year old (Haniya) needs a ton of calcium, even more than an adult — 1300 mg per day! Jeff and I, in the 31-50 year old category, need about 1000 mg per day.
- “Calcium is best known for its role in maintaining the strength and density of bones. Calcium also plays a role in many physiological activities not related to bones including blood clotting, nerve conduction, muscle contraction, regulation of enzyme activity, and cell membrane function.”
- Vitamin D accelerates the absorbtion of calcium in the digestive tract.
- “The amount of calcium in foods is not adversely impacted by cooking or long-term storage.”
Here are the food sources of calcium, simplified from the chart at The World’s Healthiest Foods.
Excellent Food Sources of Calcium
- Turnip greens, cooked
- Spinach, boiled
- Mustard greens, boiled
- Collard greens, boiled
Very Good Food Sources of Calcium
- Basil, dried, ground
- Thyme, dried, ground
- Cinnamon, ground
- Blackstrap molasses
- Swiss chard, boiled
- Yogurt, low-fat
- Kale, boiled
- Mozzarella cheese, part-skim, shredded
- Cow’s milk, 2%
- Goat’s milk
Good Food Sources of Calcium
- Dill weed
- Oregano, dried, ground
- Kelp (sea vegetable)
- Rosemary, dried
- Romaine lettuce
- Celery, raw
- Cloves, dried, ground
- Broccoli, steamed
- Sesame seeds
- Fennel, raw, sliced
- Cabbage, shredded, boiled
- Summer squash, cooked, slices
- Green beans, boiled
- Garlic
- Tofu, raw
- Mustard seeds
- Brussel sprouts, boiled
- Oranges
- Asparagus, boiled
- Crimini mushrooms, raw
Great Info! I’m going to send this to my mom, who has osteoperosis.
Thanks for sharing it.
Melissa
I didn’t know that spices had ANY nutritive value. How much do you have to eat for it to be a significant source, I wonder?
Wardeh,
Do you know why some of the foods on the list have a particular preparation note with them (e.g. Spinach, boiled)? Do you think that is just for the sake of measurement?
Thanks for the great link!
Kate
Maggie, if you follow the link in the post, it tells you how much calcium is in each food.
Kate, I don’t know that. I think it would have to do with how it was measured and the data collected. The spinach, boiled… would have so much calcium and the raw amount (much more of it to equal the same amount boiled) should have that amount of calcium, too.
Love, Wardeh