If you’re concerned about your bone and teeth health, high-calcium foods can transform your diet into a treatment program. Getting significant doses in single servings of foods or beverages helps you meet the daily recommendation of 1,000 mg to 1,200 mg calcium, an amount that promotes healthy bone density and adequate body mineral stores. Maintaining this supply makes you less likely to suffer from bone loss -- a contributor to tooth loss -- that results when your body takes calcium from the bones to make up for metabolic shortfalls. Twenty percent of the daily value, or DV, of calcium per suggested serving is considered high content by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration .
Dairy Foods
Milk products are major sources of calcium, with a 1-cup serving of yogurt providing 45 percent of the DV. While milk contains 30 percent DV per cup, it is also enriched with vitamin D, a nutrient essential to calcium absorption in the body. Daily consumption of either of these items will help you quickly achieve the recommended total. Cheeses such as cheddar, mozzarella and provolone deliver 20 percent of the DV per 1 oz.
Fortified Foods
Additional boosts toward your daily calcium goals come from fortified cereals, orange juice and soy milk. Soy milk calcium enrichment to 30 percent DV per cup matches the amount of calcium in regular milk, so you can use non-dairy products in equal amounts. Some orange juices contain up to 35 percent DV of calcium, and some brands of cereal add calcium to total 100 percent DV per suggested serving. Check the package labels for content facts.
Leafy Green Vegetables
Dark leafy greens contribute calcium to your diet as well as the broad nutrition typical of the vegetable group. The U.S. Department of Agriculture notes the importance of deriving nutrition from a variety of food sources to fulfill your calcium as well as your other needs. Cooked spinach, collard greens and turnip greens all provide 20 percent DV or more of calcium per 1-cup serving.
Seafood With Bones
Calcium is stored in the bones of humans and other animals, so eating fish canned with their bones provides significant mineral content. Sardines canned in oil offer 32 percent DV of calcium per 3-oz. serving.
Legumes
Cooked dry beans and peas are plant-based sources of calcium to include in your diet. Black-eyed peas provide the greatest amount, with 20 percent DV of calcium in 1 cup cooked.
References
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Choosing Healthful Foods Using the Nutrition Facts on the Food Label; January 2011
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference
- USDA Agricultural Research Service: Nutrient Data Laboratory
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