Individuals who want more minerals without taking another pill can find a variety of natural foods that are rich in calcium. In fact, the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans encourages adding calcium foods to a healthy diet before turning to dietary supplements. The additional nutrients in food sources add benefits beyond their calcium contents. Calcium foods, in particular, often have significant other minerals, vitamins and fiber. Human calcium needs vary with age, but the FDA sets the average adult requirement at 1,000 mg per day.
Yogurt
Many healthy diets include yogurt as a low-fat protein source, but it contains a greater percentage of the daily allowance of calcium than protein. A single 1 cup serving of nonfat plain yogurt has 452 mg of calcium, according to the USDA Nutrient Database -- nearly half of that needed for the day. Many natural food brands of yogurt have far less sugar than regular commercial brands as well.
Milk and Cheese
Milk and cheese represent foods from which dieters can make healthy selections that satisfy calcium and calorie counts. The USDA Dietary Guidelines suggests choosing reduced-fat and fat-free milk and cheeses in order to stay within calorie and fat boundaries in a healthy diet.
Low-fat items actually have higher calcium content than the same size servings of whole-milk products. One cup of reduced-fat or nonfat milk has about 305 mg of calcium, or approximately 25 mg less than whole milk. One cup of reduced-fat ricotta or cottage cheese carries 669 mg or 206 mg, respectively, with similar calcium boosts over higher milk fat versions.
Sardines and Salmon
The Office of Dietary Supplements lists canned sardines, with 325 mg, and pink salmon, with 181 mg, as nutrient-dense calcium sources. These natural foods are canned with the mineral-rich soft bones intact. Small servings of 3 oz. provide high calcium content as well as beneficial omega-3 fatty acids.
Greens
Dark, leafy greens, when cooked, provide a concentration of calcium in low-cal foods. Collards, for example, can have up to 357 mg of calcium and only 61 calories in one cup, as the USDA reports. Cooked spinach offers 291 mg, turnip greens 249 mg and kale 179 mg in one serving, all with similar calorie counts. Greens are known for their additional nutrients such as fiber, iron and potassium as well.
Beans
Dry cooked legumes, including beans, peas and soybeans, may already be present in a healthy diet for the nutrients that they, like the leafy greens, feature. One cup of cooked soybeans may have as much as 261 mg in calcium content. The Office of Dietary Supplements notes that soy milk and tofu come from this category.
Black-eyed peas have 211 mg and white beans 191 mg. Notable among natural foods, beans are subject to little processing other than harvesting and bagging.
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