Getting Enough Calcium? – Natural Food Sources of Calcium

Key Functions of Calcium to Health and Athletic Performance

Calcium plays a key role in health and is especially important for the peak performance and health of endurance athletes, as:

• -Calcium maintains strong dense bones.
• -Calcium plays a key role in contraction of the heart muscle to pump blood throughout the body.
• -Calcium is necessary for skeletal muscle contractions to occur.
• -Calcium is essential to normal blood clotting.
• -Calcium helps proper nerve impulse transmission
• -Calicum enables support of connective tissue

Vitamin D and Vitamin K are also essential for bone formation and repair. Both improve bone density and facilitates the absorption of calcium. See Natural Sources of Vitamin K. See also Vitamin D Synthesis from the Sun and Food Sources.

What Weakens Bone and Muscle Development?

1. Salt. Salt saps calcium from the bones, weakening them over time. For every 2,300 milligrams of sodium you take in, you lose about 40 milligrams of calcium, dietitians say.

2. Soft Drinks.The fizziness in carbonated drinks often comes from phosphoric acid, which ups the rate at which calcium is excreted in the urine

3. Caffeine. The numbers for caffeine aren’t as bad as for salt, but caffeine’s action is similar, leaching calcium from bones. For every 100 milligrams of caffeine (the amount in a small to medium-sized cup of coffee), you lose 6 milligrams of calcium.

4. Alcohol. Alcohol prevents the bone-building minerals you eat from being absorbed. Heavy drinking disrupts the bone remodeling process by preventing the bone-building cells, from doing their job. So not only do bones become weaker, but when you do suffer a fracture, alcohol can interfere with healing.

Calcium Supplements can be Harmful to Health

There are health risks associated with the use of calcium supplements A recent study of approximately 24,000 people between the ages of 35 and 64 found participants who took regular calcium supplements were 86% more likely to have a heart attack than those who didn’t take supplements. Calcium supplements also linked to kidney stones.

Eat foods high in calcium four times a day should get you all the Calcium that you need. Below is a list of natural sources of Calcium.

Natural Food Sources of Calcium from Dairy, Beans, Nuts, Meat, Fish, Poultry, Grains, Vegetables, Fruit and Asian Food

Since researchers are finding use of calcium supplements without coadministered vitamin D is associated with an increased heart attack risk, gaining calcium from natural food sources is healthier.

Natural Food Sources of Calcium – Source: HealthLinkBC (British Columbia, Canada)

Dairy Foods	Serving	calcium (mg)
Milk, with added calcium	1 cup	430
Milk, whole, 2%, 1% skim	1 cup	300
Milk, evaporated	1/2 cup	367
Cheese, hard	50 gm	360 (average)
Processed cheese spread	4 Tbsp	348
Cheese, processed slices	50 gm	276
Cottage cheese, 1 or 2%	2 cups	310
Cottage cheese, <0.1%	2 cups	156
Yogurt, plain	3/4 cup	290 (average)
Yogurt, fruit bottom	3/4 cup	233 (average)
Frozen yogurt, soft serve	1 cup	218
Ice cream	1 cup	194
Beans and Bean Products	Serving	calcium (mg)
Tofu, medium firm or firm, made with calcium sulphate	150 gm	347
Tofu, firm, made with calcium sulphate and magnesium chloride	150 gm	234
White beans	3/4 cup	119
Navy beans	3/4 cup	93
Black turtle beans	3/4 cup	75
Pinto beans, chickpeas	3/4 cup	58
Nuts and Seeds	Portion	calcium (mg)
Tahini (sesame seed butter)	2 Tbsp	130
Almonds, dry roast	1/4 cup	93
Almond butter	2 Tbsp	88
Sesame seed kernels, dried	1/4 cup	50
Meats, Fish, and Poultry	Serving	calcium (mg)
Sardines, Atlantic, canned with bones	75 gm	286
Sardines, Pacific, canned with bones	75 gm	180
Salmon, canned with bones	75 gm	208
Grains	Serving	calcium (mg)
Bannock	1 med	84
Oats, instant, regular, no sugar added	1 pouch	165
Non Dairy Drinks	Serving	calcium (mg)
Fortified rice or soy beverage	1 cup	319**
Orange juice fortified with calcium and vitamin D	1/2 cup	165
Regular soy beverage	1 cup	110
Vegetables (all measures for cooked vegetables)	Serving	calcium (mg)
Turnip greens	1/2 cup	104
Chinese cabbage/bok choy	1/2 cup	84
Okra, frozen	1/2 cup	65
Mustard greens	1/2 cup	55
Kale	1/2 cup	49
Chinese broccoli (gai lan)	1/2 cup	46
Rutabaga	1/2 cup	43
Broccoli	1/2 cup	33
Fruit	Serving	calcium (mg)
Orange	1 med	52
Other	Serving	calcium (mg)
Brown sugar	1 cup	198
Blackstrap molasses	1 Tbsp	179
Regular molasses	1 Tbsp	44
Asian Foods	Serving	calcium (mg)
Dried fish, smelt	35 gm	560
Soy bean curd slab, semisoft	100 gm	308
Daylily flower	100 gm	303
Sea cucumber, fresh	100 gm	285
Soy bean milk film, stick shape	100 gm	77
Seaweed, Wakame, raw	1/2 cup	63
Seaweed, dry (agar)	1/2 cup	50
Fat-choy, dried	1/4 cup	50
Soy bean milk film, dried	100 gm	48

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