The 10 Best Calcium Foods

The 10 Best Calcium-Rich Foods

The best time for your bones to grow is when you are young – and calcium is one of the best “friends” waiting to help you do so.

What Else Does Calcium Do in the Body?

Calcium has other functions in the body. Muscles and nerves use this mineral for muscle contraction and nerve transmission. Blood vessels use it to dilate and contract as needed in regulating blood pressure. Hormonal secretions also depend on calcium, as does intracellular signaling.

Intracellular signaling is the process by which cells communicate with other cells, allowing thousands of them to know what to do and when. You can think of cells as an orchestra happening within the body, but they need a conductor. Calcium is one of the conductors.

The heartbeat depends on calcium, pH does too, and it activates metabolic enzymes. The entry of nutrients into the cell wall partly depends on the supply of calcium in your body.

Calcium Deficiency is Quite Common

If you follow a diet based on processed foods, it is very likely that you are not getting sufficient calcium. Symptoms of calcium deficiency include:

• Muscle cramps
• Tetany, the sensation that the muscle (like the calf) tightens and does not relax for several minutes
• Numbness and tingling in legs and arms
• Bone deformity in growing children
• Depression
• Irritability
• Insomnia
• Slow pulse
• Blood clotting causing bleeding
• Loss of appetite

Calcium-Rich Foods

Below you will find a list of various natural foods that are rich in calcium, from highest to lowest amount.

• 1 Cup of almonds                       332 mg
• 85g of canned sardines in olive oil with bones 325 mg
• 1 Cup of hazelnuts                         282 mg
• 1 Cup of Brazil nuts              260 mg
• 1 Cup of cooked cabbage                    218 mg
• 84g of canned salmon with bones  181 mg
• 1 Cup of pistachios                         174 mg
• 1 Cup of sesame seeds         165 mg
• 1 Cup of parsley                               122 mg
• 1 Cup of turnip greens                       105 mg
• 1 Cup of peanuts                       104 mg
• 1 Cup of walnuts                                  99 mg
• 1 Cup of macadamia nuts      94 mg
• 1 Cup of collard greens                         90 mg
• 1 Cup of sauerkraut                              85 mg
• 1 Cup of okra                        82 mg
• 1 Cup of breast milk                   79 mg
• 1 Cup of yellow beans                63 mg
• 1 Cup of raw spinach              51 mg
• 1 Cup of chestnuts                           43 mg

How Much Calcium Do You Need Daily?

To start, 200 mg of calcium is needed for infants and continues up to 1300 mg for pregnant women and breastfeeding women. Interestingly, breast milk is much lower in calcium than cow’s milk – 79 mg per cup versus 290 mg per cup. Infants can easily meet their calcium needs in a day by drinking what they are supposed to drink.

Calcium needs increase from 700 mg per day once the child reaches 1 year, and then vary at 4 years to 1000 mg. By the age of 9 years, the child needs 1300 mg of calcium per day. Once the child reaches adulthood at 19 years, only 1000 mg of calcium per day is needed, while women aged 50 and men aged 70 need 1200 mg per day.

Possible Diet

You can easily get 1000 mg of calcium a day, but you need to plan for it daily. Here you will see an example of a daily menu that shows this is possible:

Breakfast

Smoothie with one cup of collard greens and one cup of parsley 212 mg

Plus ½ cup of cabbage in the smoothie 109 mg

57g of almonds 83 mg

Lunch

Caesar salad with 2 cups of spinach 102 mg

85g of canned salmon with bones 181 mg

Choose Dessert 0 mg

Snack

½ cup of pistachios  87 mg

Dinner

Steak 0 mg

½ cup of sauerkraut 42 mg

1 cup of cabbage 105 mg

Snacking

½ cup of hazelnuts 141 mg

Total calcium for the day: 1062 mg

Try a week of eating calcium-rich foods and let us know how you feel. It can transform your life!