Get Calcium Without Relying on Cow's Milk

Last week I blogged about Mommy’s Milk Cheese. For the brave and vegan, this is likely a great way to receive vitamins and minerals like calcium in the diet.

For the less experimental, there are other ways to get your calcium sans dairy. (Though I’m not vegan, I have found that reducing my consumption of cow’s milk has lent to a general feeling of overall wellness, including clearer skin and easier digestion.)

Calcium-Rich, Non-Dairy Foods

1. Fortified beverages like O.J and soymilk. A six oz. serving of calcium fortified orange juice can provide as much as 20-25 percent of your daily value (DV). An eight oz. cup of soymilk can contain as much as 50 percent of your DV. Make sure to check the labels as different brands can vary in their nutritional content!

My tasty tip: Avoid the brands with added sugars. I always opt for unsweetened soymilk to shave out the hidden calories!

2. Steamed or sautéed greens. Turnip greens, kale and spinach pack the greatest calcium punch. Try not to overcook to avoid losing the nutrients.

My tasty tip: Spice it up with some minced garlic. Garlic is loaded with anti-oxidants and anti-viral properties.

3. Salmon — canned, that is. Wild caught salmon is great for all of its omegas but three ounces of canned salmon locks in 18 percent of your DV of calcium. The trick? Eating the bones. The canning process softens them up making them more edible and palatable.

My tasty tip: Look for brands championing wild, sustainable harvesting. Enjoy the salmon perched atop wholesome crackers with mustard and avocado or atop a salad of organic mixed greens and local raw veggies.

4. Raw broccoli. A half-cup serves up two percent of your DV.

My tasty tip: Dress it up or dip in an organic dressing like vegan tahini and lemon-based Annie’s Naturals Goddess dressing.

5. Tofu. It contains 20 percent of your DV! The versatile meat substitute can be prepared to sate any taste preference.

My tasty tip: Try to seek out the least processed, preservative containing variety.

::Dr. Weil

Read more: Diet & Nutrition, Eating for Health, Food, Health, broccoli, calcium, dairy, milk, salmon, soy, tofu

By Jessica Root, Planet Green

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Elizabeth B.

8:59AM PDT on May 30, 2011

this article is good and useful ,,,,,because dairy often has an unhealthy calcium to protein ratio which can inhibit calcium because there is more protein

send a green star

Jennifer C.

10:08PM PDT on Mar 14, 2011

Thanks for the great info.

VV V.

10:21AM PST on Feb 28, 2011

Sesame, parsley (yes, parsley!) and, of course, GOAT milk, which is much healthier than cow milk and doesn't even have to be homogenised?

Read about it, you'll see. :)

Ioana B.

5:13AM PST on Feb 27, 2011

there are people who say that some canned food might be healthy,i do not eat canned food ever...don*t really know how healthy that is

Bon L.

1:36AM PST on Feb 27, 2011

Thanks for the info.

Jacqueline B.

11:33AM PST on Nov 12, 2010

great suggestions and the comments are fantastic!

KayL N.

5:55PM PDT on Jul 14, 2010

I've never been particularly fond of the flavour of milk, but I love cheese... and although I'm not a vegetarian, I eat tons of all the recommended foods above simply because they all taste wonderful!

Past Member .

2:53PM PDT on Jul 12, 2010

The Dairy Industry has convinced millions of people that milk and other dairy products are the only proper source of calcium in the diet. When I was a teenager, they even had an advertisement in women's magazines stating "Dairy Products, Calcium the way Nature Intended". What a LIE!! This was many years ago yet the dairy industry still continues to misinform the public. Dairy products DO NOT protect against osteoporosus or other bone problems, in fact they may even contribute to it! The US and other nations with high dairy intake have among the highest rates of osteoporosus along with heart disease, obesity and other terrible health problems.I have heard claims the raw milk from grass-feed cows is supposedly better than standard milk, but it still contains saturated fats, cholesterol, lactose, hormones( all milk contains hormones to stimulate growth!!) casen ( a milk protein that causes many health problems in humans) and calories. Milk's purpose is to turn a 60 pound calf into a 500 pound cow in a year! Most milk drinkers that I know are very overweight and have poor health! If people feel the need to drink milk or other dairy it should only be consumed in early childhood and gradually cut out of the diet by late childhood.Teenagers and adults certainly do not need dairy products! Believe me, your health will improve 100% by avoiding dairy!

durga p.

1:51AM PDT on Jun 23, 2010

worried abt. the diet they feed to cows or animals which give milk. Coming to hormones/ induced milking is very painful and inhumane also..

Linda C.

5:24PM PDT on May 25, 2010

I am a "milk baby" and have been my whole life, (63 yrs) I've just switched to skim milk w/ NO artificial feed given to the cows. I truly cannot enjoy a meal w/o milk to drink w/ it as that's how I was raised. I do iced tea when I go out but it's just not milk!!:) I take calcium/magnesium/zinc at nite for restless leg syndrome and have been since before they came out w/ prescription stuff, it works!
Canned fish - YUCK!! I recently bought tuna in spring water, a well know brand, and when I opened it up it was all "smushy", not chunks, just mush and when I drained it, the pieces were so small they went into the cats dish too! I'm DONE w/ anything in a can. I guess I'll have to change to tuna in those bags, a friend of mine says they're pretty good, but they cost more (of course). As for soy milk, I bought Silk Soy milk and it tasted yucky, I mentioned it to my friend and she said "didn't notice the 'organic' is gone from the label, didya?". So what's up w/ that? Walmart's soy milk is terrible too........ maybe switch to rice milk?