Calcium is a mineral that is very important in our body. This is due to the many health benefits it has which we will discuss in a moment. People often know that calcium is abundant in milk, but most people don’t get much further than that. And that’s not weird at all!
Often, the focus is almost exclusively on the fats, carbohydrates, and proteins of food. But this is not right, because calcium is very important! This article can help you to enrich your daily diet with calcium in a tasty way.
Table of Contents
- What is calcium good for?
- List of calcium-rich foods
- List of calcium-rich drinks
- How much calcium do you need per day?
- Why should you take a calcium supplement?
- Sources of calcium for vegans
- Symptoms of a calcium deficiency
What is calcium good for?
The fact that calcium is so good for you is due to its many positive health effects, we will discuss them now.
- To maintain strong bones and teeth : The teeth and bones consist largely of calcium. To keep it solid, you will therefore need to get enough calcium through your diet. Your bones are also a ‘storehouse’ for calcium that your body can release if it is needed. By getting enough calcium, you will also reduce the risk of bone loss/osteoporosis at a later age.
- The functioning of your muscles : Calcium is needed at the cellular level for muscle fibers to contract. When your brain controls muscles, calcium flows into the muscle fiber to make this possible. For this reason, calcium will contribute positively to the functioning of your muscles.
- Normal functioning of your nervous system : The way calcium contributes to your nervous system is quite complicated, we’ll try to explain it simply. In your nervous system, signals are passed between different neurons. In order for this transfer to take place, a so-called neurotransmitter is needed that provides the ‘trigger’ for this. Calcium ensures the release of these neurotransmitters so that the signal transfer can take place properly.
- The transport of other minerals : Calcium improves the transport of other minerals in the body cells. These include, for example, potassium, sodium and magnesium.
List of calcium-rich foods
| Food | Mg calcium per 100 grams |
| 30+ cheese | 721 |
| Quinoa | 320 |
| Almonds | 250 |
| Hazelnuts | 200 |
| Figs | 190 |
| Cooked dark leafy vegetables | 180 |
| Soybeans cooked | 138 |
| Cottage cheese | 130 |
| Spinach frozen | 125 |
| Yogurt | 110 |
Please note that these are approximate values, the actual amount of milligrams will vary per product.
List of calcium-rich drinks
| Drink | Mg calcium per 100 mL |
| Milk | 120 |
| Buttermilk | 110 |
| Chocolate milk | 90 |
| Yogurt drink | 90 |
How much calcium do you need per day?
Now that you know which foods contain which amount of calcium, it is of course relevant to know how much calcium you need per day. As a healthy adult, you need about 1000 mg of calcium per day. At an older age (70+) it is wise to take a little more, towards 1200 mg.
Know that the principle ‘the more the better’ certainly does not apply to calcium intake. Make sure you don’t get more than 2500 mg of calcium per day. This can lead to urinary tract stones, among other things.
Why should you take a calcium supplement?
It is quite easy to get enough calcium from your diet, so you may be wondering why you should take a calcium supplement. About a third of women and a fifth of men are less able to absorb calcium into the blood from the age of 50.
So, for example, if they neatly consume 1000 mg of calcium in a day, it is possible that only 700 mg of this ends up in the blood and in this case you still have a deficiency. This will mainly have negative consequences for the muscles and bones. You can of course counteract this by eating more foods that contain calcium. However, this will not be desirable for many people, in this case a calcium supplement is a good option.
Sources of calcium for vegans
With a vegan diet it is of course more difficult to get enough calcium. However, it is doable if you know which vegan foods contain calcium. Below we give a few additional examples of this.
| Food | Mg calcium per 100 grams |
| Flax seed | 250 |
| Tofu | 204 |
| Kale | 72 |
| Orange | 40 |
| Sweet potatoes | 27 |
As a vegan it can also be difficult to get enough protein, if you want to learn more about protein sources for vegans click here.
Symptoms of a calcium deficiency
First of all, we want to dispel a myth; namely that white spots on your nails are the result of a calcium deficiency. This is incorrect and now we will explain how you can notice a calcium deficiency.
In most cases, you will experience few symptoms of a calcium deficiency in the short term. You may experience mild numbness, possibly accompanied by tingling, in your mouth, toes and/or fingers, but this does not have to occur.
In the longer term, the symptoms are much more severe. It can lead to muscle cramps, weak bones, fatigue and cardiac arrhythmias. In addition, the feeling of numbness and tingling may worsen.
Lifestyle coach [5+ years of fitness experience]