Consuming calcium-rich foods daily will help minimize resorption of calcium from the bones and thus promote dense, strong bones.
Calcium is found salmon (with bones), sardines, seafood and dark green leafy vegetables. Milk and dairy products are the primary source of calcium in the North American diet.
Other calcium-rich foods include almonds, asparagus, blackstrap molasses, brewer’s yeast, broccoli, buttermilk, cabbage, carobs, cheese, collards, dandelion green, dulse, figs, filberts, goat’s milk, kale, kelp, milk, mustard greens, oats, prunes, sesame seeds, soybeans tofu, turnip greens, watercress, whey and yogurt.
There are many herbs contains calcium. This include alfalfa, burdock root, cayenne, chamomile, chickweed, chicory, dandelion, mullein, nettle, oat straw, paprika, parsley, peppermint, plantain, raspberry leaves, eyebright, fennel seed, fenugreek, flaxseed, hops, horsetails, kelp, lemongrass, red clover, rose hips, shepherd’s purse, violet leaves, yarrow, and yellow dock.
Besides the many supplements or antacids that provide calcium, many food manufacturers have been adding calcium to their foods as well.
Consumption of food with high in protein, fat and/or sugar affects calcium uptake. The average American diets of meats, refined grains and soft drinks leads to increase excretion of calcium.
Consuming alcoholic beverages, coffee, junk foods, excess salt, and/or white flour also leads to the loss of calcium by the body.
Calcium may be poorly absorbed from foods rich in oxalic acid. Oxalic acid can be found in almonds, beet greens, cashews, chard, cocoa, soybeans and spinach. Oxalic acid known as oxalate, is the most potent inhibitor of calcium absorption by binding with it in the intestines and producing insoluble salts that cannot be absorbed.
The normal consumption of foods containing oxalic acids should not pose a problem, but overindulgence in these foods inhibits the absorption of calcium.
Oxalic acid can also combine with calcium to form calcium-oxalate kidney stones. However, that taking magnesium and potassium supplements can prevent the formation of this types of stone.
Diet with calcium-rich foods
