Calcium in a plant-based diet

Milk is also linked to type 1 (juvenileonset) diabetes and other serious conditions. Happily, there are many other good sources of calcium. Keeping your bones strong depends more on preventing the loss of calcium from your body than on boosting your calcium intake. Some cultures consume few or no dairy products and typically ingest fewer than 500 milligrams of calcium per day.However, these people generally have low rates of osteoporosis. Many
scientists believe that exercise and other factors have more to do with osteoporosis
than calcium intake does. CAlCiuM in tHe Body Almost all of the calcium in the body is
in the bones. There is a tiny amount in the bloodstream, which is responsible for important functions such as muscle contraction, maintenance of the heartbeat, and transmission of nerve
impulses. Many people avoid milk because it contains saturated fat, cholesterol, allergenic
proteins, lactose, and frequent traces of contamination, or simply because they don’t feel
well after consuming dairy products.


We regularly lose calcium from our bloodstream through urine, sweat, and feces. It is renewed with calcium from bone or from the diet. Bones are constantly broken down and made anew. Up until the age of 30 or so, we build more bone than we lose. Later, the bones tend to break down
more than build up. The loss of too much bone calcium can lead to fragile bones or osteoporosis.
How rapidly calcium is lost depends, in part, on the kind and amount of protein you eat, as well as other diet and lifestyle choices. reduCing CAlCiuM loss A number of factors affect calcium
loss from the body:
• Diets that are high in protein cause more calcium to be lost through the urine. Protein from animal products is much more likely to cause calcium loss than protein from plant foods.
This may be one reason that vegetarians tend to have stronger bones than meat eaters.
• Diets high in sodium increase calcium losses in the urine.
• Caffeine increases the rate at which calcium is lost through urine.
• Smoking increases the loss of calcium from the body.

Where to get it
(content in milligrams)
Vegetables
Broccoli (1 cup, boiled) 62
Brussels sprouts (1 cup, boiled) 56
Butternut squash (1 cup, baked) 84
Carrots (2 medium, raw) 40
Cauliflower (1 cup, boiled) 20
Collards (1 cup, boiled) 266
Kale (1 cup, boiled) 94
Sweet potato (1 cup, baked) 76
legumes
Black turtle beans (1 cup, boiled) 102
Chickpeas (1 cup, boiled) 80
great northern beans (1 cup, boiled) 120
Kidney beans (1 cup, boiled) 62
lentils (1 cup, boiled) 38
navy beans (1 cup, boiled) 126
pinto beans (1 cup, boiled) 79
Soybeans (1 cup, boiled) 175
Soymilk (1 cup, calcium-fortified) 368
Tofu (1/2 cup, raw, firm) 253
Vegetarian baked beans (1 cup) 86
White beans (1 cup, boiled) 161
Whole grains
Corn tortilla 42
rice milk (1 cup, enriched) 300
Wheat bread (1 slice) 26
Whole-wheat flour (1 cup) 41
Fruit
Dried figs (10 figs) 140
naval orange (1 medium) 60
Orange juice (1 cup, calcium-fortified) 300*
raisins (2/3 cup) 53
Source: u.s. department of Agriculture, Agricultural
research service. 2004. usdA national nutrient database
for standard reference, release 17. nutrient data laboratory
web site: nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp
* package information where to get it