It also
plays a vital role in:
-maintaining
healthy blood pressure
-nerve impulse transmission
-muscle contraction
-hormone production
-regulating blood clotting.
Your body
gains access to calcium in two ways.
Either through dietary intake, or by breaking down your bones and
releasing the bound calcium for use.
Bones are constantly being broken down, however too much of this will result in
overall bone loss and increased risk of developing osteoporosis.
Not all
calcium in food is absorbed by the body. The % of calcium in a food which our body can absorb is the 'bioavailability'.
For instance only 30% of the calcium in dairy food is able to be absorbed. This is why dietary recommendations for calcium
are so high (around 1000mg/day); because the body requires approximately
300mg/day of absorbed calcium.
On top of this, it is important to know which nutrients enhance calcium absorption and utilisation. It is equally important to know which substances interfere with optimum calcium absorption and stores.
FRIENDS OF CALCIUM
(enhance absorption and utilisation)
|
FOES OF CALCIUM
(increase urinary calcium loss)
|
Vitamin D
Vitamin K
Magnesium
Zinc
Potassium
Silica
Manganese
Copper
Phosphorous
Vitamin C
|
High Sodium
Intake
High Caffeine
Intake
High Protein
Intake
High
Phosphorous Intake
#Oxalates and Phytates also inhibit absorption to some extent.
|
According to
the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, the recommended
daily intake for calcium is as follows:
Infants
|
RDI
|
0-6months
|
210mg/day
|
7-12months
|
270mg/day
|
Children
and Adolescents
|
RDI
|
1-3yrs
|
500mg/day
|
4-8yrs
|
700mg/day
|
Boys and Girls
|
|
9-11yrs
|
1000mg/day
|
12-13yrs
|
1300mg/day
|
14-18yrs
|
1300mg/day
|
Adults
|
|
Males
|
|
19-70yrs
|
1000mg/day
|
70+yrs
|
1300mg/day
|
Females
|
|
19-50yrs
|
1000mg/day
|
51-70yrs
|
1000mg/day
|
70+yrs
|
1300mg/day
|
#The RDI for
calcium in Pregnancy and lactation is 1000mg/day except those who are 14-18yrs
old for which it is 1300mg/day.
What if you’re Vegan, dairy intolerant, or simply wish to avoid eating dairy foods? How do you get enough calcium from food?
Actually it is not that hard. I have come up with a list of my top 12 non-dairy dietary
sources of calcium, which have a bioavailability equivalent to dairy
foods. I have also outlined the rough
serving size necessary to provide one serve of bioavailable calcium.
Based on an
intake requirement of 1000mg/day, one would need to have approximately three
serves per day from the foods listed below.
FOOD
|
SERVING SIZE = 1 SERVE OF CALCIUM
|
Blackstrap Molasses
Canned
Sardines
Tahini
(ground sesame seeds)
Collard
Greens
Chinese
Mustard Greens
Canned
Salmon with Bones
Bok Choy
Kale
White
Beans
Almonds
Broccoli
Calcium-set Tofu
|
2
Tablespoons
95g Can
5
tablespoons
1 Cup
Raw Equivalent
½ Cup
Raw Equivalent
100g Can
1 Cup
Raw Equivalent
1 Cup
Raw Equivalent
2 Cups
Soaked and Activated
1 Cup
Soaked and Activated
1 ½ Cups
½ Cup
|
This list is
in no way exhaustive. Of the many other
non-dairy food sources of calcium; either the calcium bioavailability was lower
(therefore requiring a greater intake) or I was unable to verify the level of bioavailability.
Further
Reading
Mangels, A
2014, ‘Bone nutrients for vegetarians’, American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol 100, pp. 469S-475.
Theobald, H
2005, ‘Dietary calcium and health’, Nutrition
Bulletin, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 237-277.
I'm happy to say that I eat 6 items from this list regularly. Great list, cheers :)
ReplyDeleteThat is great to hear Christine good for you, and thank you x
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