All About Calcium

Calcium is one of the many minerals that you need to be healthy. Calcium is very important to ensure strong, healthy bones and teeth. It also helps muscles and nerves to work properly. In addition, calcium may help you to manage your weight and blood pressure, and play a role in preventing colon cancer.

Calcium is the main component of bones and teeth. It is essential for growth in children, and helps to ensure efficient muscle contraction and blood clotting. It is also useful for lower blood pressure. Our bodies use calcium to help our heart, muscles and nerves work properly. Our bodies cannot make calcium it self so, we must get it from the foods we take. When we eat calcium rich food the calcium enters our blood and is carried to the organs to perform the work that is needed. The extra calcium we eat is stored in our bones & when there is deficiency of calcium from food, the body will take the calcium from our bones to meet its needs.

Milk and dairy products are among the major sources of calcium. Milk is one of the best providers of calcium in the diet. A 200ml glass of milk provides 55 per cent of the calcium to a six-year-old child. Cheeses and yogurts are also good sources of calcium and according to The Dairy Council- three dairy products a day are recommended to meet the daily requirement. People in the age group of 19-50 are recommended to consume about 1,000 mg of calcium per day, while for people in 50s; it should be approximately about 1200 mg per day.

Other then milk & dairy products there are several other types of non-dairy sources of calcium that you can opt as to ensure your daily calcium intake. The soft bones of fish, as with sardines, pilchards and tinned salmon, provide us with valuable calcium. Other useful sources include Soya bean products, such as tofu, as well as sesame seeds, nuts, white bread, dried fruit, pulses and green leafy vegetables. Okra and curly kale are also rich vegetable sources of calcium. Soya milk alternatives, bottled water, breakfast cereals and orange juice are also fortified with extra calcium.

Non-Dairy Food Source of Calcium

Food, Standard Amount	Calcium (mg)	Calories
Fortified ready-to-eat cereals (various), 1 oz	236-1043	88-106
Soy beverage, calcium fortified, 1 cup	368	98
Sardines, Atlantic, in oil, drained, 3 oz	325	177
Tofu, firm, prepared with nigarib , ½ cup	253	88
Pink salmon, canned, with bone, 3 oz	181	118
Collards, cooked from frozen, ½ cup	178	31
Molasses, blackstrap, 1 Tbsp	172	47
Spinach, cooked from frozen, ½ cup	146	30
Soybeans, green, cooked, ½ cup	130	127
Turnip greens, cooked from frozen, ½ cup	124	24
Ocean perch, Atlantic, cooked, 3 oz	116	103
Oatmeal, plain and flavored, instant, fortified, 1 packet prepared	99-110	97-157
Cowpeas, cooked, ½ cup	106	80
White beans, canned, ½ cup	96	153
Kale, cooked from frozen, ½ cup	90	20
Okra, cooked from frozen, ½ cup	88	26
Soybeans, mature, cooked, ½ cup	88	149
Blue crab, canned, 3 oz	86	84
Beet greens, cooked from fresh, ½ cup	82	19
Pak-choi, Chinese cabbage, cooked from fresh, ½ cup	79	10
Clams, canned, 3 oz	78	126
Dandelion greens, cooked from fresh, ½ cup	74	17
Rainbow trout, farmed, cooked, 3 oz	73	144

Dairy Food Source of Calcium

Food, Standard Amount	Calcium (mg)	Calories
Plain yogurt, non-fat (13 g protein/8 oz), 8-oz container	452	127
Romano cheese, 1.5 oz	452	165
Pasteurized process Swiss cheese, 2 oz	438	190
Plain yogurt, low-fat (12 g protein/8 oz), 8-oz container	415	143
Fruit yogurt, low-fat (10 g protein/8 oz), 8-oz container	345	232
Swiss cheese, 1.5 oz	336	162
Ricotta cheese, part skim, ½ cup	335	170
Pasteurized process American cheese food, 2 oz	323	188
Provolone cheese, 1.5 oz	321	150
Mozzarella cheese, part-skim, 1.5 oz	311	129
Cheddar cheese, 1.5 oz	307	171
Fat-free (skim) milk, 1 cup	306	83
Muenster cheese, 1.5 oz	305	156
1% low-fat milk, 1 cup	290	102
Low-fat chocolate milk (1%), 1 cup	288	158
2% reduced fat milk, 1 cup	285	122
Reduced fat chocolate milk (2%), 1 cup	285	180
Buttermilk, low-fat, 1 cup	284	98
Chocolate milk, 1 cup	280	208
Whole milk, 1 cup	276	146
Yogurt, plain, whole milk (8 g protein/8 oz), 8-oz container	275	138
Ricotta cheese, whole milk, ½ cup	255	214
Blue cheese, 1.5 oz	225	150
Mozzarella cheese, whole milk, 1.5 oz	215	128
Feta cheese, 1.5 oz	210	113

No matter what age a woman is when she becomes pregnant, calcium is very important to both the mother and the baby. Calcium from the mother's body is used by the developing baby, putting increased demands on the mother's supply. During pregnancy, calcium transfer from mother to developing baby reaches 270 mg daily, on average, by the third trimester. Additional calcium may be needed for both mother's and baby's health.

A recent analysis of 14 scientific studies, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that women with initially who took about 1,500 mg of 2,000 mg of supplemental calcium every day while they were pregnant had a significantly lower risk of preeclampsia, a leading cause of premature birth.

Preeclampsia is a disorder that occurs during pregnancy and affects both the mother and the developing baby. Affecting at least 5-8% of all pregnancies, it is a rapidly progressive condition characterized by high blood pressure and the presence of protein in the urine. It can possibly result in serious consequences for both mother and child.

Moreover, research also demonstrates that pregnant women with low dietary calcium consumption who were supplemented with calcium during their second and third trimesters gave birth to babies who had a 15-percent increase in bone mineral content over children whose mothers were given a placebo during pregnancy. The babies of mothers who were getting adequate daily dietary calcium showed no significant difference in fetal bone content between the treatment group and the placebo group.