Boost Your Bones with Calcium-Rich Foods

Many women struggle to ingest enough calcium. We look at some obvious and less obvious calcium sources that make it easy to get the recommended daily allowance.

Women are told time and again that calcium is essential to ward off dreaded osteoporosis. Yet, the number of women who don’t try to incorporate calcium-rich foods in their diets, or who don’t take supplements is staggering.

It’s actually quite easy to include calcium-rich foods in your diet; even vegetarians and vegans can manage it.

Obvious sources

  • Dairy

Dairy is the most obvious source of calcium; the one that everyone knows about. It’s why mothers try to give their kids at least one glass of milk a day. According to health24.com, fat-free milk contains more calcium than low-fat milk, which contains more calcium than full-fat milk. This is because there is less milk fat to take up precious space for calcium.

Yoghurt is very popular with kids because it comes in yummy flavours. Many women also find it more palatable than a glass of milk.

Hard cheese is a fantastic source of calcium, but you can’t go eating whole blocks of it at a time because cheese is also very high in fat. Go carefully with the hard cheese and include more soft cheese, like low-fat cottage cheese, in your diet.

  • Oily fish

Sardines and salmon are other well-known sources of calcium. Not everyone likes the idea of tinned sardines though, which is why grilled or baked salmon offers such a nice alternative. On the other hand, sardines contain twice as much calcium as low-fat milk, so perhaps you need to cultivate a taste for tinned sardines after all.

Less obvious sources

  • Sesame seeds

Raw or roasted, sesame seeds contain an impressive amount of calcium. Even tahini, which is a sesame seed paste, provides more calcium than milk. Sesame seeds and tahini are both very versatile, which makes them an easy source of calcium, especially for vegetarians and vegans.

  • Beans

Beans may be a musical fruit (that make you toot) but they are also high in calcium. Green beans alone won’t cut it, so if you really want to boost your bones you need to eat more white beans, kidney beans and lima beans.

  • Oatmeal

Oatmeal is not only the breakfast champions; it’s also a champion source of calcium. Sprinkle it with some sesame seeds and add some fat-free milk and we’re looking at a real calcium power-house.

  • Dried herbs

Who’d have thought that the collection of herbs you have gathering dust in your cupboard could help you live a long, happy and skeletally-healthy life. Dried savory tops the charts. It has a peppery flavour, which, according to mccormick.com, tastes something like thyme. Your next best bet is celery seed, followed by dried thyme, dill and marjoram. Other dried herbs that provide an easy source of calcium include sage, basil, oregano and mint.

  • Oranges

You’d more readily associate oranges with vitamin C, but the delicious fruit also comes with a powerful calcium boost. What’s more, the vitamin C for which it is so famous, aids calcium absorption, making it an all-round winner.

As you can see, it’s relatively easy to incorporate several calcium-rich foods in your diet – even if you’re vegan. Even so, many healthcare providers recommend that women still take a calcium supplement. Talk to your doctor or chemist for advice.

Author Bio: Tony Rollan provides marketing service for HealthSource Chiropractic of Jupiter and he is an author of many articles on alternative medicine, natural healing and chiropractic services. Author talks about the chiropractic services and right nutritions.

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