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CALCIUM FOOD SOURCES
Every minute men buy 5,917
gallons of milk
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What is calcium?
Calcium is a mineral that primarily functions in your body by making your
bones and teeth hard.
Ninety-nine percent of the calcium in your body is
stored in your bones and teeth. It accounts for about 1.5 to two percent of
an adult's total body weight. Calcium is needed for good dental health.
Good food sources of calcium
are:
 | All dairy products except butter
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| Dried peas and beans
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| Most dark leafy greens (beet, turnip, kale collards but NOT
spinach or Swiss chard
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| Soft bones of small fish (salmon)
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| Fortified cereals, foods and juices
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| Vegetable sources for
calcium, especially good if you do not like or can not tolerate dairy
products
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| Add milk instead of water when preparing soups, hot
cereals, pancakes or scrambled eggs
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| Wrap a tortilla around string cheese and warm in microwave
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| Sprinkle shredded cheese on salads, bake potato, casseroles
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| Mix fresh fruit with yogurt for breakfast or dessert or
snack
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| Drink a milk shake or malt
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| Drink hot chocolate or chocolate milk
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| Use milk instead of water to cook corn on the cob, poach
fish or chicken
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| For dessert choose puddings, custards, ice cream or frozen
yogurt
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| Calcium fortified juice |
| Calcium fortified bread* |
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Calcium robbers:
| A high protein diet can increase calcium loss.
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| Too much caffeine or too many soft drinks
can also inhibit calcium absorption. |
| Low levels of vitamin D. Vitamin D is
needed for calcium to be absorbed in the GI tract. |
| Fiber interferes with absorption of calcium particularly
bean, nut, wheat bran or seed fiber
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| Too much salt. This can cause calcium
to be lost through the kidneys. |
| Certain medications such as water pills
(diuretics), steroids, anti-seizure medications,
immunosuppressive medications, non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs ( NSAIDs like ibuprofen, naproxen),
asthma medication with steroids |
| Oxalic acid in spinach and Swiss chard, rhubarb, almonds
and chocolate combine with calcium to form calcium oxalate, a salt the body
can not use.
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| Lifestyle choices such as cigarette use,
more than 2 alcoholic drinks a day. |
| Sedentary lifestyle. The lack of
weight bearing exercise such as walking, running, weight
lifting will decrease bone mass. |
| On the other hand too much calcium block the absorption of
iron and zinc
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From THE NUTRITION BIBLE, Jean Anderson and Barbara
Deskins. Copyright © 1995 by Jean Anderson and Barbara Deskins. By
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It is good to be dense
Facts About Calcium Absorption
| Calcium megadoses may cause drowsiness, extreme lethargy
and impaired absorption of iron, zinc and manganese.
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| Calcium must have vitamin C and D to be absorbed
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| The body best absorbs calcium supplements in stages of no
more than 600 milligrams at a time.
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| Take calcium supplements with meals
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| Calcium carbonate is the most common form of
supplement. 40% of it is absorbed by the body. In order to
consume 1,000 milligrams of elemental calcium you would have to take 2,500
milligrams of calcium carbonate!
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| If a calcium supplement label lists the contents as
"600 mg of calcium carbonate per tablet, it provides 240 mg of calcium
that the body can use (40% of 600m mg).
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Calcium recommendations per Age Group:
Age
Group Dietary Recommendations
| 0-6 months |
210 milligrams/day |
| 6-12 months |
270 milligrams/day
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| 1-3 years |
500 milligrams/day |
| 4-8 years |
800 -1,200 milligrams/day |
| 9-18 years |
1,300 milligrams/day |
| Adults 19-50 |
1,000 milligrams/day |
| Adults 51+ years |
1,200 - 1,500 milligrams/day |
| Pregnant and nursing women |
1,200 milligrams |
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DRI's
are reference values that can be used for planning and assessing diets
for health populations. The developme4nt of DRI's replaces toe periodic
revisions of Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA's) which have been
published since 1941 by the National Academy of Sciences.
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©
1998-1999 SmithKline Beecham. All rights reserved
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Updates
Shake It!
There's a trick to getting the full
benefits from your calcium-fortified beverages.
A large percentage of the calcium added to orange juice, soy drinks, and rice
milk may settle at the bottom of the carton, a recent study concluded. This
could mean less of the bone-building mineral ends up in your glass until the
end of the carton. Keep the calcium coming steadily by shaking calcium-fortified
beverages well before each serving.
RealAge Benefit: Consuming 1,200 milligrams of calcium per day can make your
RealAge
as much as 1.3 years younger.
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