Calcium is a mineral essential to a healthy body. It supports bone health, muscle and blood vessel function, and the nervous system. The amount of calcium you need daily depends on your age and gender, but most people need between 1,000 and 1,200 mg daily. Milk and other dairy products are rich sources of calcium, with one cup of reduced-fat milk providing 285 mg of calcium. People who are lactose intolerant or allergic to milk must find alternative sources. Many non-dairy foods are sources of calcium, while other foods are enhanced with calcium.
Leafy Greens
Leafy green vegetables include kale, bok choy, broccoli and spinach. One cup cooked, frozen spinach contains 291 mg of calcium and 1 cup of raw broccoli contains 41 mg. Include leafy greens at breakfast in omelets, add spinach to sandwiches and soups at lunch and add kale to casseroles and bok choy to stir fries at dinner.
Canned Fish
Canned sardines and salmon with the bones are another source of calcium. You get 325 mg in a 3-oz. serving of sardines and 181 mg in a 3-oz. serving of canned salmon. Use it either in salads or pasta recipes.
Soy Milk
Choose soy milk fortified with calcium to get 301 mg in just 1 cup. Soy milk comes unsweetened, or flavored with vanilla and chocolate. Use soy milk like you would cow's milk -- on cereal, in baking, in soups and casseroles or for drinking.
Fruits
Rhubarb contains 348 mg of calcium per one cooked cup. In order to make it palatable, rhubarb needs added sugar so it is usually used in sweet preparations, such as pies and cobblers. One medium orange provides 52 mg of calcium. One cup of calcium-fortified orange juice provides 500 mg of calcium, about half of the amount recommended daily by the National Institutes of Health.
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