Food and beverage alternatives to milk, a major source of dietary calcium, help children and adults get optimum levels of this essential mineral. Individuals who don't eat dairy products must find another way to achieve the 1,000 milligrams (mg) average daily intake value recommended by the FDA for ages 4 and up. Consumers can add calcium-rich items to food sources with only moderate calcium content. The nutrition facts on product labels show calcium amounts per serving as percentages of the total daily value, or DV. Fresh food values can be found in the USDA Nutrient Database.
Fruit Juice and Nuts
For calcium boosts, include some fruit and nuts in your diet. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that many commercial orange juices enrich their products with 20 percent or greater calcium content per suggested serving. Almonds and Brazilnuts are naturally high in calcium, and almond drinks may be further mineral-enriched.
Soy Products
One cup of cooked soybeans contains up to 25 percent DV in dietary calcium, according to the USDA Nutrient Database. This rich mineral content disperses when processed into soy milk and tofu, but manufacturers re-fortify these products with added calcium compounds. Therefore, 1 cup of soy milk may provide as much calcium as 50 percent DV and ½ cup of tofu may provide 20 percent DV, according to the NIH.
White Beans
All legumes are calcium food sources, but white beans have greater calcium content than other beans, lentils or peas. The USDA relates that 1-cup servings of white beans have 19 percent DV, while navy and Great Northern beans carry as much as 12 percent, or twice the amount of kidney or lima beans.
Veggies
The USDA places collard greens and spinach atop the list of green, leafy vegetable food sources of dietary calcium, with up to 35 percent DV in 1 cup of cooked greens. The NIH adds turnip greens, kale, bok choy and Chinese cabbage as alternate sources of calcium.
Grain Products
Enriched breads, whole-grain cereals and rice drinks may contain as much as 100 percent of your dietary calcium needs for the day. General Mills Total cereals are among those high-calcium products, according to the USDA, compared to B&G Foods Cream of Wheat and Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Cereal Bars, with about 20 percent DV per serving each.
Seafood
Consumers can turn to salmon and sardines canned with soft bones to add some of the highest natural calcium content to their diets. Three oz. offers from 18 percent to 35 percent DV of calcium, as per the USDA.
Member Comments