There is one question that has come up more often than others lately. People keep asking me where vegans get calcium if they don’t eat cheese, milk, or other dairy products. The answer is simple … there are many foods high in calcium that have nothing to do with animals. And then an educational opportunity ensues.
Why is calcium important?
Obviously kids need calcium because it helps their bones grow. After puberty, bone growth ends but bone density increases until roughly age 30.1 So that means if you don’t eat your calcium, you may fall apart! But literally, many people suffer from weak bones as they get older and you can imagine that having weak bones means they break a lot or impede functioning. Women are at a greater chance of calcium depletion especially during pregnancy when calcium shifts from the mother to the fetus.
The recommended level of calcium for adults age 19 through 50 years is 1000 mg per day.2 You can increase or maintain bone density by choosing foods high in calcium, taking vitamins with calcium, and exercising to preserve bone mineral content. Of course here were going to talk about getting calcium from food since food is one of my favorite topics.
Why not get calcium rich foods from animals?
As with many food ideologies we tend to have as a culture, I think it is such a tragedy that people think they can only get calcium from animal sources. However as a communications professional, it consistently shows me the power effective marketing can have over time. Marketing, lobbying and misinformation, have all worked together to increase profits in the dairy industry and make food cheap for people. What does that mean? It means in the end as consumers we are being told that dairy products come from happy cows and that we need them to grow up big and strong. Ahem …. I have to disagree.
In fact research shows that dairy products can actually leech (that is a nice word for “suck out”) calcium from your bones. According to milksucks.com, “both clinical and population studies show that milk-drinkers tend to have more bone breaks than people who consume milk infrequently or not at all.”3 I know! Hard to believe after what we’ve been taught for generations. According to Michael Greger, MD, milk does indeed come with a lot of calcium but it also comes with a lot of baggage like cholesterol, saturated fat, and even puss and feces. Overall it is harmful to humans. It is the number one source of artery clogging fat in the United States diet. It is also one of the top allergens in the US diet. Dr. Greger says “the calcium found in leafy green vegetables like kale and broccoli is absorbed about twice as well as the calcium in milk.”4
What are vegetarian calcium sources?
So what are vegetarian calcium sources? Below are some of my favorite vegan sources of calcium:
- tofu
- soy milk
- tempeh
- tahini
- kale
- collard greens
- broccoli
- spinach
- oranges
- black beans
- peas
- almonds
- molasses
More information on foods high in calcium:
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/calcium.htm
What are your favorite calcium-rich foods? Make a list and pass it along to your friends.
Notes:
(1) Preserving Bone Density, Julian Huang, MD, http://www.spine-health.com/treatment/pain-medication/preserving-bone-density, accessed 6-24-09.
(2) Standing Committee on the Scientific Evaluation of Dietary Reference Intakes, Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine: Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Fluoride. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1997.
(3) Milk Sucks: Got Osteoporosis?, www.milksucks.com/osteo.asp
(4) Dr. Michael Greger, Latest in Clinical Nutrition 2008, www.drgreger.org
Mojave said
There is a problem with soy products such as soy milk and tofu in regard to calcium absorption. Soy contains phytic acid which binds to calcium and prevents its absorption. From what I have read, soy leads the list of legumes in phytic acid amounts. However, fermented soy products–miso, natto, tempheh–do not have this problem. With the great numbers of boomer female vegetarians facing mid-life and the looming issue of osteoporosis, this will become a big issue once it is better known. I’m looking forward to the response of major health food companies, hoping they will begin using fermented soy in their alternative meat products.