Milk isn't the best source of calcium.

Okay, so we’ve established that drinking milk may not do a body so good after all. But, don’t we need calcium? Absolutely.  Only 21% of Americans are getting the recommended daily amount of calcium.  Adults ages 19-50 need between 1000 and 1200 mg of calcium a day. If you’re over 50 you should be getting 1200mg or more a day, as your body uses calcium less efficiently as you get older. So, why do we need calcium and where can we get it if we have a dairy-free diet?

Benefits of Calcium

We’ll skip the part about calcium building strong bones because I think everyone agrees on that point.  Calcium intake has also been linked to great benefits for PMS, reducing the headaches and fatigue and cramping that many women contend with on a monthly basis. Calcium has also been shown to have a beneficial effect on cholesterol levels. It’s been shown to maintain cholesterol levels more than it’s been shown to lower them, but that’s still a great benefit.

What’s even more beneficial is that calcium can help prevent hypertension and weight gain.

Calcium and Hypertension

A lot of people don’t know that when you’re body is low on calcium your kidneys make up for it by releasing calcitriol. Calcitriol has a couple of negative effects on the body. The first one is the effect it can have on your smooth muscle arterial walls. The walls of your arteries then become constricted and your blood pressure elevates. High blood pressure is a key cause to stroke and heart-attack.

Calcium and Weight Gain

Your body does something else when it has a calcium deficiency; it goes into starvation mode. This causes four glands in your neck to release a parathyroid hormone that has been linked to fat production in the body. This means your body creates fat when it is low on calcium, leading to a real difficulty with weight control.

Calcium Sources

So, calcium does all of these wonderful things, but where do we get our calcium if we’re not eating dairy? Surprisingly, there is much less calcium in dairy than most people think there is. In fact there are many vegetables that contain just as much, if not more, calcium than dairy. In the next post I will discuss the many places that you can find calcium if you’re not eating dairy.

Stay tuned.  You’ll be surprised at the non-dairy food that provides more calcium than a glass of milk!

Any ideas?  If you think you know the answer, comment below.

I have a special gift for the person that gets it right first…good luck!