Guest Post–How Much Calcium Do I Need?

I am really excited about this post!  When I read it on Team Giles – immediately contacted Lauren and asked her if I could repost it.

I think a huge challenge with being dairy free is getting enough calcium in our diets. I know it’s something I struggle with on a daily basis  - So I found this post really interesting…  Enjoy!

Ps.  Make sure to check out Laurens Blog  - she’s a gorgeous gal with lots of great posts about many different topics.  I especially like her weekend inspirations – always great for a post for the weekend!

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I’m Lauren, a 20-something {and holding onto those 20′s… as the end is near} girl, living in Houston, Texas with my awesome husband and hilarious little Yorkshire terrier.

I’m maintaining a 125lbs weight-loss (note from Jessica – How amazing is she??) . I'm a vegetarian, runner, zumba lover, bootcamp instructor, yoga fan, wanna-be fashionista, list-maker and mega green tea drinker. Thanks for reading my post and feel free to contact me at Lauren@TeamGiles.com, I’d love to hear from you!

How Much Calcium Do I Need?

I don’t know why, but lately I’ve been craving cheese. Just in the past couple of days. Um, weird. Maybe my body is begging for some kind of nutrients that I’ve been lacking. So I got busy, as in googled the benefits of cheese…

I found this below from WHFoods:

Health Benefits

Calcium Helps Prevent Colon Cancer, Osteoporosis, Migraine and PMS

In recent studies, calcium has been shown to:

• Help protect colon cells from cancer-causing chemicals
• Help prevent the bone loss that can occur as a result of menopause or certain conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis
• Help prevent migraine headaches in those who suffer from them
• Reduce PMS symptoms during the luteal phase (the second half) of the menstrual cycle

Calcium is best known for its role in maintaining the strength and density of bones. In a process known as bone mineralization, calcium and phosphorus join to form calcium phosphate. Calcium phosphate is a major component of the mineral complex (called hydroxyapatite) that gives structure and strength to bones. One ounce of low-fat mozzarella cheese provides 18.3% of the daily value for calcium along with 13.1% of the DV for phosphorus.(Please note that the low-fat mozzarella cited throughout this article is not the only type of low-fat cheese that we recommend. We just chose it as an example of a low-fat cheese so that we can highlight this food’s nutritional attributes.)

Calcium also plays a role in many other vital physiological activities, including blood clotting, nerve conduction, muscle contraction, regulation of enzyme activity, cell membrane function and blood pressure regulation. Because these activities are essential to life, the body utilizes complex regulatory systems to tightly control the amount of calcium in the blood, so that sufficient calcium is always available. As a result, when dietary intake of calcium is too low to maintain adequate blood levels of calcium, calcium stores are drawn out of the bones to maintain normal blood concentrations. If a person’s diet does not supply adequate calcium, this situation can result in osteoporosis after many years.

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Ok, so maybe I’m lacking calcium? So I found a list of foods that are high in calcium…

• Collard Greens - one cup of cooked collard greens has 266 mg calcium.
  • Collard Greens and Tomatoes
  • Sautéed Collard Greens
• Sardines - each single sardine has 92 mg calcium.
  • Catanian Stuffed Sardines
  • Grilled Whole Sardines with Thai Barbecue Rub
• Green Peas - one cup of green peas has 94 mg calcium.
  • Couscous with Peas
  • Peas and Corn
• Baked Beans - one cup of baked beans has 154 mg calcium.
  • Baked Beans – - Fagioli Stufati
  • Boston Baked Beans
• Goat Milk - some people find that goats’ milk is easier to digest. One cup of goats’ milk has 327 mg calcium.If you like goats’ milk, you will love cheese made from goats’ milk. There are many delicious varieties and the dry forms of goat cheese contain about 200 mg calcium per ounce.
  • Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts
  • Sun Dried Tomato and Goat Cheese Bean Dip
• Canned Salmon - three ounces of canned salmon contain 181 mg calcium. Salmon also is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids.
  • Salmon Patties
  • Aloha Salmon
• Oranges - one cup of orange sections will give you 72 mg calcium and lots of vitamin C as well.
  • Lentils with Oranges
  • Halibut Steak with Oranges
• Kale - this delicious green has 92 mg calcium per cup of chopped leaves.

• Low Fat Tomato, Kale and White Bean Soup
• Sauteed Greens

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First of all, I don’t even know what Collard Greens are? No way on the Sardines or Salmon. So thankfully I’m good with the Green Peas, Baked Beans, Oranges and Kale… and of course I love goat cheese. Then all this got me thinking, “How much Calcium do we need daily, anyway?“

I found a nifty calculator at Healthy Food Guide (and I looked up some others to double check the answer)…

According to this website and a bunch others, I should be getting roughly 1,000mg a day of Calcium. That’s something I’ve never really paid attention to before… do you?

On the website Healthy Food Guide, they had another list of foods high in calcium…

Perhaps I should pay a little more attention to ALL my nutritional needs, ya know.

In the lists above, what is what of your favorite foods?

 

Thanks again Lauren for a fantastic post!!