Suggestions on boosting calcium intake
 

Yes, I know, I could drink 3 glasses of milk a day, but frankly, I'm a calorie snob and I don't like drinking my calories. I'd rather eat food than drink a glass of milk.

I also take a multi-vitamin, but I'd rather be getting most of my calcium from food. I suppose maybe I could sprinkle some fat-free cheese on my food or something but truthfully I'm not a big fan of cheese. So I'm wondering what everyone here does to get your calcium without drinking milk? What are some calcium-rich foods that you eat?

Thanks :)

Tofu, surprisingly, is a fairly high calcium food. For under 100 cals, you can have 1/2 cup of plain yogurt with 1/3 c mooshed blackberries and a little splenda, and thats high calcium. I eat tons of broccoli and spinach, both of which are decent sources, broccoli especially so. My calcium is always higher on days when I have cereal and lt. vanilla soy milk for breakfast.

And if you find you're really low for that day, a cup of light vanilla soy milk is only 60 calories and has the same calcium as regular milk, so your inner calorie snob shouldn't complain too much.

2 laughing cow wedges (70 calories) have 16% of your calcium need for the day. Pair those with 2 fat free Ry-Crisp crackers (50 calories) for a very filling snack, and get 16% of your calcium to boot.

I really like tofu but I've never actually bought it and used it at home, I usually order it in restaurants. What's the best way to use it?


Yes, I occasionally eat yogurt. I love the Dannon Light & Fit vanilla cream!


That's something I've never tried, vanilla soy milk. I've had regular soy milk and didn't like it, so maybe the vanilla would taste better to me.


I'm going shopping tomorrow, maybe I'll pick up some of the laughing cow cheese.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Tums. When I am running low, according to my Dietpower calculations, I pop a couple of them.

here is a list of calcium equivalents I snagged off the Tums site

CALCIUM EQUIVALENTS (each equals 300 mg of calcium)
TUMS® E-X calcium supplement 1 tablet
Milk 1 cup
Yogurt (low-fat, nonfat) 1 cup
Cheese, hard 1 1/2 ounces
Ricotta cheese, part skim, regular 1/2 cup
Cottage cheese 2 cups
Powdered skim milk 1/4 cup
Frozen yogurt, milk based 1 1/2 cups
Pudding, low-fat, nonfat 1 cup
Calcium-fortified soy milk 1 3/4 cups
Calcium-fortified orange juice 1 cup
Soy beans 1 3/4 cups
Canned salmon with bones 5 ounces
Sardines with bones 6 average-sized
Tofu processed with calcium 6 ounces
Broccoli, kale, okra, mustard greens 1 1/2 cups

Wow! 300 mg in one tablet!

Excellent idea and thanks for all of the other suggestions as well :)

I just cube, cook in a pan with a little cooking spray, and throw it in a stir-fry, or put cubes in a soup (yum!). Or you can marinate it in your favorite asian marinade (I like ginger, orange, soy, sesame oil, and garlic) and grill or cook on a griddle/grill pan.

Just FYI: Your body can only absorb 500mg of calicum at a time so space out your intake as you should be consuming either through foods or supplements 1,000-1,500mg a day. That's why I take the viactiv vanilla flavoured pills, they go down tasty and they are soooo convenient.

Oh that sounds so yummy. I'm picking me up some tofu tomorrow, thanks!

Excellent info, thank you :)

I do the same thing. I've been buying the fruity chews, though, like the raspberry and the strawberry cream. :D They also have Vitamins D (25% DV) and K (50% DV). I take one 3 times a day. Some days I may also take a One-A-Day Women's multi but not always (I forget).

Just check your package for the calcium in your tofu - depending on different processing methods, you can get more or less calcium in different brands.

Will do :)

I'm an avid label-reader, so I'll be sure and check out all of the information.

Thanks for everybody's suggestions!

Today I picked up some light chocolate soy milk which is absolutely DELICIOUS! I also bought some tofu and some reduced-fat string cheese snacks.

Thanks again!

This is a common misperception (probably perpetuated by the Tums company). While Tums are high in calcium, they are an antacid and interfere with your digestion and your stomach's ability to absorb nutrients. Thus, you aren't actually able to absorb much of the calcium in them, despite what the Tums folks would have you believe.

Funny. My Dr. recommended this.

Calcium absorption gets tricky, doesn't it? (actually, I guess that's true of lots of nutrients).

I was so saddened to learn that caffeine may inhibit calcium absorption to some extent. So having my milk in my coffee doesn't necessarily help a lot!

And vitamin D helps absorption (and which is why calcium supplements often include it!)