What are some good natural sources of taking calcium besides milk, meat and spinach?!

Here is a chart with a pretty extensive list. I also included a reference for your daily calcium requirements (I do not know your age, so I included all ages). Hopefully you can find some combination of things on this list that works for you.


Non-Dairy Food Sources of Calcium
Food, Standard Amount Calcium (mg)
Calories
Fortified ready-to-eat cereals (various), 1 oz 236-1043
88-106
Soy beverage, calcium fortified, 1 cup 368
98
Sardines, Atlantic, in oil, drained, 3 oz 325
177
Tofu, firm, prepared with nigari , ? cup 253
88
Pink salmon, canned, with bone, 3 oz 181
118
Collards, cooked from frozen, ? cup 178
31
Molasses, blackstrap, 1 Tbsp 172
47
Spinach, cooked from frozen, ? cup 146
30
Soybeans, green, cooked, ? cup 130
127
Turnip greens, cooked from frozen, ? cup 124
24
Ocean perch, Atlantic, cooked, 3 oz 116
103
Oatmeal, plain and flavored, instant, fortified, 1 packet prepared 99-110
97-157
Cowpeas, cooked, ? cup 106
80
White beans, canned, ? cup 96
153
Kale, cooked from frozen, ? cup 90
20
Okra, cooked from frozen, ? cup 88
26
Soybeans, mature, cooked, ? cup 88
149
Blue crab, canned, 3 oz 86
84
Beet greens, cooked from fresh, ? cup 82
19
Pak-choi, Chinese cabbage, cooked from fresh, ? cup 79
10
Clams, canned, 3 oz 78
126
Dandelion greens, cooked from fresh, ? cup 74
17
Rainbow trout, farmed, cooked, 3 oz 73
144





Dairy Food Sources of Calcium
Food, Standard Amount Calcium (mg)
Calories
Plain yogurt, non-fat (13 g protein/8 oz), 8-oz container 452
127
Romano cheese, 1.5 oz 452
165
Pasteurized process Swiss cheese, 2 oz 438
190
Plain yogurt, low-fat (12 g protein/8 oz), 8-oz container 415
143
Fruit yogurt, low-fat (10 g protein/8 oz), 8-oz container 345
232
Swiss cheese, 1.5 oz 336
162
Ricotta cheese, part skim, ? cup 335
170
Pasteurized process American cheese food, 2 oz 323
188
Provolone cheese, 1.5 oz 321
150
Mozzarella cheese, part-skim, 1.5 oz 311
129
Cheddar cheese, 1.5 oz 307
171
Fat-free (skim) milk, 1 cup 306
83
Muenster cheese, 1.5 oz 305
156
1% low-fat milk, 1 cup 290
102
Low-fat chocolate milk (1%), 1 cup 288
158
2% reduced fat milk, 1 cup 285
122
Reduced fat chocolate milk (2%), 1 cup 285
180
Buttermilk, low-fat, 1 cup 284
98
Chocolate milk, 1 cup 280
208
Whole milk, 1 cup 276
146
Yogurt, plain, whole milk (8 g protein/8 oz), 8-oz container 275
138
Ricotta cheese, whole milk, ? cup 255
214
Blue cheese, 1.5 oz 225
150
Mozzarella cheese, whole milk, 1.5 oz 215
128
Feta cheese, 1.5 oz 210
113




Daily Calcium Requirments
Birth - 6 months: 210 mg
6 to 12 months: 270 mg
1 to 3 years: 500 mg
4 to 8 years: 800 mg
9 to 18 years: 1300 mg
19 to 50 years: 1000 mg
50+ years: 1200 mg

Calcium and iron are tough to get without eating meat/eggs/dairy. I see a lot of people here are recommending soy, but, like spinach, it contains oxalates which inhibits your body's ability to absorb calcium and iron. Your body tries to pass the calcium out through your kidneys, sometimes leading to kidney stones.

You don't say how much calcium you're getting or from what sources, so it's hard to recommend anything. The thing about calcium is that you don't know you've shorted your body until you start breaking bones or your teeth go bad. Plus exercise plays a big role in bone strength, as does vitamin D.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/302843…

Anything soy, soy cheese, soy anything. Actually, spinach is the best way to absorb calcium because it has vitamin D in it, and vitamin D plays a big part in calcium absorption.

Regular cheese, of course.

Also, calcium supplements. Yogurt.

And another good one--sardines. They are really high in calcium.

They also make orange juice, Tropicana brand I believe, that is fortified with Calcium and Vitamin D.

I'm lactose intolerant and always need to figure out non-dairy alternatives to calcium

Try tofu!

Here is a detailed list of dairy and nondairy

Best Dairy Sources of Calcium mg.
Yogurt, nonfat, plain (1 cup) 450
Yogurt, lowfat, plain (1 cup) 400
Yogurt, nonfat, fruit (1 cup) 300
Parmesan cheese (1 ounce) 336
Milk, lowfat (1 cup) 300
Romano cheese (1 ounce) 302
Cheddar cheese (1 ounce) 200
Cottage cheese (1 cup) 155
Best Non-Dairy Sources of Calcium mg.
Sardines (3 oz) 371
Orange juice, calcium-fortified (1 cup) 300
Sesame seeds (1 ounce) 280
Tofu (3 oz) 190
Salmon (3 oz, canned) 180
Collard greens (1/2 cup, chopped) 180
Rhubarb (1/2 cup) 174
Blackstrap molasses (1 tbsp.) 172
Amaranth flour (1/2 cup) 150
Spinach (1/2 cup, canned) 136
Figs (5) 135
Artichoke (1 med.) 135
Soybean nuts (1/4 cup) 116
Turnip greens (1/2 cup, chopped) 100
Cereal, calcium-fortified (1/2 cup) 100-200
Kale (1/2 cup, chopped) 90
Almond butter (2 tbsp.) 86
Beet greens (1/2 cup, boiled) 82
Almonds (1 ounce) 80
Bok Choy (Chinese cabbage) (1/2 cup) 79
Okra (1/2 cup) 77
Tempeh (1/2 cup) 77
Beans (1/2 cup, baked) 75
Papaya (1 medium) 73
Orange (1 medium) 50
Broccoli (1/2 cup, chopped) 47

from:
http://nutrition-goddess.com/caring-abou…

and you might want to read the whole article series, because it is not just about eating it, but stopping it from getting sloughed out of the body.

Have a great day!

Tofu
soymilk
soycheese
dairy cheese/yoghurt
lentils
chickpeas
pinto,black,red, black eye beans,
green split peas
pumpkin
seeds- sesame, pumpkin, flax
broccoli
brussel sprouts
green peas
leeks
soybeans
brazil nuts
walnuts
almonds
almond butter/milk

yogurt, cheese, broccoli, oranges, tofu, fish

you don't have to take pills...you can eat viactiv soft calcium chews. tastes just like candy!!

Milk, Mushrooms, Cheese.