People who can’t digest lactose or who don’t like milk need reliable replacements for its calcium and vitamin D nutrition. To achieve milk’s optimal daily values, you’ll need a wider range of calcium food sources. Some non-dairy foods also provide vitamin D, which allows the body to absorb calcium from the colon. The U.S. Department of Agriculture suggests food rather than supplements to get your daily 1,000 to 1,200 milligrams of calcium and 15 micrograms of vitamin D.
Almonds
If you don’t drink milk, you can eat a handful of almonds every day for a steady contribution of 75 mg of calcium to your diet. In the case of calorie-rich almonds, more calcium isn’t better: The USDA recommends a serving size of 1 ounce, or 24 nuts.
Greens
Edible leafy greens such as kale, turnip greens, spinach and collards offer from 175 to 350 mg of calcium per 1 cooked cup of vegetables. Additional green vegetables that provide more moderate amounts of calcium as alternatives to dairy products include Chinese cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts.
Peas
Cooked dry peas and beans offer more plant-based calcium options to milk. One cup of cooked black-eyed peas, or cowpeas, has 211 mg of calcium, with soybeans and white beans providing similar nutrition. Prepared canned pork and beans also deliver significant calcium due to their added ingredients, such as mineral-rich tomatoes.
Fortified Cereal Milk Substitutes
Non-milk drinkers can pour calcium-substitute soy milk or rice drink over breakfast cereal to get more minerals. Choose an enriched brand for similar amounts of calcium and vitamin D to cow’s milk. One cup of soy milk or rice drink has up to 300 mg of calcium and 3 mcg of vitamin D, depending on the brand.
Canned Fish With Edible Bones
Saltwater fish represent some of the few animal-based sources of vitamin D, to make the calcium you get from nondairy foods accessible to your body. A few types of fish canned with their soft, edible bones also have large amounts of calcium in 3-oz. servings to increase your daily totals. Sardines canned in oil contain 325 mg of calcium and 4 mcg of vitamin D. Pink salmon canned with its bones has 230 mg of calcium and 10 mcg of vitamin D.
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