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HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Got (No) Milk: PINK's Guide to Calcium-Rich Foods and Supplements

Not getting the vitamins your bones need from food? Here's the skinny on where to get your calcium.

By Taylor Mallory

In an ideal world, we'd all get the vitamins we need for strong bones from well-balanced home-cooked meals. But if your busy lifestyle or a poor or limited diet (i.e., vegetarianism, veganism or lactose intolerance) does not provide the recommended amounts of these vitamins (1,000 mg of calcium and 400 to 800 IU of vitamin D each day), supplements can make up the difference.

CALCIUM CONTENT OF SELECTED FOODS
Adult recommended intake is 1,000 mg to 1,300 mg

Food	Approximate Calcium Content (mg per 3 oz)
Almonds	214
Brazil Nuts	171
Bread (whole wheat)	91
Dates (pitted)	53
Figs (dried)	114
Haddock (fried)	41
Carob	315
Caviar	252
Cheddar cheese	682
Eggs	49
Ice Cream	112
Kelp	990
Milk	107
Molasses, light	150
Parmesan cheese	1,036
Prunes (dried)	80
Pistachio nuts	117
Raisins	56
Rhubarb	87
Salmon	135
Sardines	315
Seaweed	1,710
Sesame Seeds	1,080
Soybeans	214
Sunflower Seeds	108
Swiss cheese	841
Walnuts	85
Watercress	135
Yogurt	105

CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTS

Several different calcium compounds are used commonly in supplements. As a rule, stick to brand names with proven reliability, recommends the National Osteoporosis Foundation, or ask your pharmacist to recommend a supplement that dissolves in your stomach for better absorption.

Choosing a Calcium Supplement: All Calcium Supplements Are Not Created Equal
Calcium is never taken in its pure form but is always combined with another chemical, or "salt," the way it is found in nature. Calcium supplements should always contain information on the amount of elemental calcium contained in each dose. Some may also list the total of calcium salt in the product, but different calcium salts provide different amounts of calcium.

Calcium carbonate (Oscal and Caltrate) and calcium citrate (Citracal) are the most popular calcium supplements. The other forms command a small percentage of the market due to the lack of consumer and physician awareness. Here's how the two popular forms stack up:

ATTRIBUTE	CALCIUM CITRATE	CALCIUM CARBONATE
Absorption	Can be taken at any time of the day or night, with or without food	Should be taken with meals, as it needs stomach acid to absorb effectively
Interactions with antacids, H2 blockers and Proton Pump Inhibitors	Can be taken in combination with acid-reducing medications	May not be as effectively absorbed when taken with acid-reducing medications
Side effects	Does not increase the risk of kidney stones	Has been found to increase the risk of kidney stones.
Elemental breakdown	Contains 21 percent elemental calcium, so it may require more tablets than calcium carbonate to equal one dose	Contains 41 percent elemental calcium, so it may take fewer tablets than calcium citrate to equal one dose