Thinking of Giving up Cow's Milk. Then Where Do You Get Calcium and How Much?

This is ALL copied from a news letter I get -

The next big concern is "How will I get enough Calcium?" As mentioned above, most of the Calcium in milk is not absorbed by the body. More calcium is absorbed from foods such as green leafy vegetables, broccoli, sardines (with bones preferably) and salmon. This makes sense that more calcium come from greens since cows preferably eat grass and they have a lot of calcium inside their bodies (Please don't eat grass. This really only works for cows).
Isabel De Los Rios
Certified Nutritionist
Certified Exercise Specialist
Author of The Diet Solution Program
www.TheDietSolutionProgram.com

I had this debate a few years ago with some ladies I worked with who couldn't comprehend that the adult human doesn't need milk. Milk is produced by female mammals for their babies who eventually wean because they can receive the appropriate nutrients from their food intake (why cats/dogs/cows/whales can all survive after being weaned).

However, finding some information on what foods you can integrate that have high calcium levels has proven a little more challenging than I would have thought.

The best I can find is from the American Dietetic Association: http://www.eatright.org/Public/content.aspx?id=11347&...

Basically, green, leafy foods appear to provide a good amount of calcium (hence the broccoli), and everything I find suggests supplements or products fortified with calcium (such as orange juice).

My one caution - little known fact: the human body can only absorb 500 mg of Calcium at a time per a pharmacist I used to know. So, I'd check with a pharmacist or your doctor before selecting a product because you may be wasting your money on a high Calcium product that just flushes most out of your body.

Also be mindful of too much calcium - I had to stop taking calcium supplements during my second pregnancy because it was causing what we believe to be kidney stones.

Good luck!

We usually only put milk in our cereal and on rare occasion we have a glass (maybe once or twice a month). My hubby, daughter and I go through a gallon in about two weeks.

Here are other items we consume to get the calcium needed:
yogurt
frozen yogurt
calcium fortified cereal
calcium fortified bread
calcium fortified OJ
Cheese
Oranges
Dark-green veggies: broccoli, kale, peas, collard greens
Beans (white, kidney, and so on; dried or canned have a good amount)
Canned Salmon (with the bones mashed in it, they are soft so no choking hazard)
Almonds (can use almond butter or just eat the almonds)
Sweet Potato

I love making a daily smoothie made with fresh and frozen ingredients to get many of my vitamins :)

Also make sure you are getting enough vitamin D because that will help absorb the calcium better. It can be found in fortified cereals, OJ, yogurt, beef and egg yolk. As other pointed out you can only absorb 500mg in an hour or so, which means space out the above to get your daily recommended intack of calcuim (for some too much can case kidney stones or other issues so no need to take a mulit vitamin if you are getting enough from foods).

Your body can only absorb 500 mg of calcium at a time. So space your calcium throughout the day and be sure to get in 1500 mg. Read labels, etc... I take a great calcium with vitamin D. The pills aren't big and are easy to swallow. 250 mg in each pill. Here is the link.
http://healinghappens.myshaklee.com/us/en/products.php?sk...

I would highly recommend the book nourishing traditions. Here's a link.....

http://www.amazon.com/Nourishing-Traditions-Challenges-Po...

Don't be put off by the sub-title. this is a great book about nutrition for your family with tons of information on cooking and lots of great recipes.

Good luck.

Our family gave up dairy due to Milk allergies. Our little kids chew TUMS and take multi vitamins, plus they drink Soy, Rice, almond milk, and fortified OJ. Our lives have been so much better after ditching dairy. good luck it will be worth it. We really don't need cows milk, research it. Good luck

I haven't had milk in years. I have had three pregnancies with very little dairy products, and my kids are all fine (I only eat organic greek yogurt and some string cheese). Soy milk has more calcium than regular milk (but check the label to be sure it is fortified with it). Almond milk also has calcium. Almonds, broccoli, leafy greens, figs, tofu, calcium fortified orange juice, salmon with bones, beans, sesame seeds, all have a lot of calcium. The dairy myth persists in this country because we are raised to believe we won't get dairy unless we consume milk products, but the fact is most other countries don't consume any dairy and they have less cases of osteoporosis than the countries that do consume dairy. And also, things can deplete your calcium stores such as too much animal protein, caffeine, salt, excess phosporus and a sedentary lifestyle. And getting sufficient vitamin D is also important to maintain calcium in the body. The best way to build strong bones is to do lots of weight bearing exercise - that is actually more important than consuming dairy products.

We don't drink cows milk and although there are a lot of great food sources (the green leafies that everyone is mentioning, almonds etc) with my son being so picky and eating sometimes just a few bites of food a day, I wanted to be sure we covered our bases. I give him a few servings of Almond milk each day (like most mothers give cows milk). My picky eater LOVES almond milk. Actually I do too...its really delicious. The kind I buy actually has less sugar than cows milk but provides the same amounts of calcium, vitamin D etc. Almond Milk also has some other benefits (antioxidants etc- check out the label). The only down side is that Almond milk only has 1 g of protein per cup where cows milk has about 8 (from memory) and Almond milks is low in fat.

Any other dairy products -- cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. You can take a calcium supplement as well.

you could check the internet for vegan/vegetarian websites that will let you know more. loma linda university has done a lot of research on vegan diet. it is totally possible, and actually much healthier than milk! :) i fully support and encourage you because this is a great change to make.
and for a milk replacement i really liked vanilla flavored almond milk; though i havent tried vanilla flavored other types of milk so its possible those are good too. plain they are pretty blah, but could be used for cooking cuz im sure vanilla flavored is more expensive.

calcium... it is found in a LOT of things; and just a quick search for veggies with calcium brought up this page:
http://www.carrotcafe.com/f/calevel.html

:) so good luck!

Spinach has a lot of calcium. I don't care for milk, but I've been worried about getting enough calcium. So, I gave Silk vanilla soy milk a try, and loved it. I usually drink the lite version and I've even mixed it with the lite chocolate for a little treat. I think it's delicious. Also, you could try almond milk, which is new to the general market.
Have fun,
K.