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Getting Enough Calcium? - Natural Food Sources of Calcium
by Ralph Teller |
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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.
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 |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| Grains
|
Serving |
calcium (mg) |
| Bannock |
1 med |
84 |
| Oats,
instant, regular, no sugar added |
1 pouch |
165 |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| Fruit |
Serving |
calcium (mg) |
| Orange
|
1 med |
52 |
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| Other
|
Serving |
calcium (mg) |
| Brown
sugar |
1 cup |
198 |
| Blackstrap
molasses |
1 Tbsp |
179 |
| Regular
molasses |
1 Tbsp |
44 |
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| 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 |
More about Ralph Teller. See Ralph's 1Vigor Log Calendar.
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Books on Calcium
Natural Health - Peak Performance - Longevity Lifestyle, by Ralph Teller
Sports Nutrition , Asker Jeukendrup
Chris Carmichael's Food for Fitness, by Chris Carmichael
Sports Nutrition for Women, Anita Bean
Articles on Calcium
 Nutrition for the Female Athlete, Luis E Palacio, MD, Director of Primary Care Sports Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Medscape
Calcium Information, Beth Kapes, Rebecca J. Frey PhD, Healthline
The Important Role of Physical Activity in Skeletal Development: How Exercise may Counter Low Calcium Intake, John Anderson, Schools of Public Health and Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Calcium in the Arteries -- Can You Run Too Far and Too Hard?, Carl Foster, PhD., Medscape
6 Foods That Weaken Bones, Melanie Haiken, Caring.com via MSN Health.
Calcium Supplements Boost Heart-Attack Risk: Meta-Analysis, Fran Lowry, Heartwire via Medscape.
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