Foods rich in calcium
As an image is worth a thousand words, I have prepared this infographic where you can find at a glance the main sources of calcium.
DAIRY: Milk, yogurt or cheese in its multiple and infinite variants. It is important to remember that skimmed dairy products have the same amount of calcium as non-skimmed milk . Cured or more fatty cheeses have a higher amount of calcium than fresh cheeses but, be careful, because they also have a higher caloric density.
– VEGETABLES: There is a higher concentration of calcium in green leafy vegetables, such as watercress or spinach. Kale, broccoli, cabbage, and their close relatives are highly recommended.
– VEGETABLES: White beans and chickpeas are the kings of this category.
– FISH: Sardines in oil win by a landslide and after them the anchovy, salmon, sole, sea bream or sea bass, among others.
– SEAFOOD: Prawns, prawns, mussels, cockles, octopus, clams and the luxury range such as barnacles, Norway lobster and oysters contain interesting amounts of calcium . Obviously, these calcium-rich foods are also not for daily consumption like milk.
– DRIED FRUITS: Almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts or pistachios have calcium in their composition, although given their caloric density, it is not appropriate to inflate them. The great discovery in this category is sesame , with almost 700 mg of calcium per 100 g. No, I am not asking you to take sesame by the tablespoon from tomorrow, but perhaps we should start considering it as a complement in our dishes. 10 g of sesame would be equivalent to 70 mg of calcium. If we take into account that to get 70 mg of calcium we would have to consume, for example, 200 g of broccoli, you should draw your conclusions.
– SPICES: Something similar occurs to what happens with dried fruits, with the difference that spices do not contribute kilocalories to the diet. 2 g of oregano provide 30 mg of calcium. Some will think that we will never reach 1000 mg based on these herbs (and they will be right), but it is a simple and light way to enrich dishes. Other spices rich in calcium are cinnamon or bay leaf.
How much calcium should we take?
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has recently increased the recommended intakes for calcium. Until 50 years of age 1000 mg daily is recommended, and from 50 years of age, 1200 mg / day.
To get an idea of what 1000 mg of calcium is, we could say that they would be achieved by eating throughout the day, for example:
– Milk (250 ml): 300 mg calcium
– A yogurt (125 ml): 178mg calcium
– Chickpeas (200 g): 300 mg calcium
– Sardines in oil (60 g): 240 mg calcium
Once the 1000 mg of calcium has been achieved, it begins to be difficult (although not impossible) to obtain the extra 200 mg required from the age of 50 without resorting to a third serving of dairy products.
RECIPES WITH FOODS RICH IN CALCIUM
At this point, we already know how much calcium our body needs and what foods we can find it. However, I am aware that we are faced with a troop of unfriendly foods (such as broccoli) or difficult to combine (such as mussels or cockles). What can we do to “put together” an appetizing dish with this army of Pancho Villa?
Since cooking is one of the many gifts that heaven did not want to give me, I have enlisted the help of two good blogs in whose recipes archive one can find almost everything. On the one hand, L’Exquisit , my neighbor blog on the AR website, and on the other, Afreirpimientos , my neighbor’s blog in real life (and a friend for many years).
- The chickpeas that escaped from the stew
On July 25, the supposed hottest day of the summer, the apothecary presents you some chickpeas, but that is, cool. There is still hope for the chickpea outside the stew and this salad proposal is most appetizing. In addition, within its ingredients we find foods that add calcium , such as green beans, chives or bay leaf.
And there is even more life for the chickpea outside the cooked in the form of hummus with sesame . Yes gentlemen, with sesame, another of the foods that add up . The hummus is still a very simple chickpea puree (until I have ever done it, I will not tell you more) that enriched with sesame becomes a very interesting dish with respect to its calcium concentration.
- Sardines run through the mountains
I don’t know about the bush, but what happens to me is that I don’t know how to put the sardines on the plate. To the sardines, anchovies and anchovies, many of us place them next to some fried potatoes and some canes in a bar, but how can we give them a little grace at home?
At L’Exquisit, Sonia offers us some sardine rolls with vegetable mince and olives that can even serve as an original aperitif at dinner.
The Apothecary’s Advice
If as @mamasncomplejos, to which this post is dedicated, one day you come across an analytic that indicates that you should increase your calcium intake, don’t be alarmed: you can work on it. In addition to following these tips regarding the consumption of foods rich in calcium , it would be interesting to also maintain an adequate intake of vitamin D, since it favors the intestinal absorption of calcium.
Rorder that there is life beyond the cow, but that the calcium digger can become a gold digger. And if you finally fail to achieve the recommended intake through food, do not despair, your doctor may consider the possibility of receiving a supplement.
