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Calcium Suppliers: With These Foods you Strengthen Your Bones

Calcium is the most important building block for healthy bones. But you don’t have to take calcium tablets straight away to meet your needs.

Why the combination of calcium and vitamin D is crucial

Vitamin D is mainly absorbed from the sun through the skin and only a little through food. But that’s less of a problem, especially for older people. “Vitamin D3 tablets are suitable here,” reports the umbrella organization for osteology.

Good sources of calcium include dairy products such as milk, cheese and so on. If you have a lactose intolerance, you can alternatively use water containing calcium. If the mineral water contains at least 150 milligrams of calcium per liter, it may be labeled “calcium-containing”.

But some vegetables such as spinach, kale or broccoli are also rich in calcium. It should be noted that you should not boil the vegetables but steam or stew them. When cooking, the calcium would settle out in the cooking water. In addition, the calcium storage can also be well filled with legumes and nuts.

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health

Osteoporosis Prevention: These Foods Strengthen Your Bones

Osteoporosis (bone loss) makes bones brittle and unstable – and increases the risk of fractures. However, the disease is often discovered too late. With the right diet, you’ll strengthen your bones so it doesn’t have to get that far.

Osteoporosis is a metabolic disorder in the bones
Bone loss puts you at an increased risk of fractures
Even small changes in lifestyle can have a preventive effect
Calcium and vitamin D are particularly effective
Which foods help against bone loss? If you suffer from osteoporosis, the bone metabolism is disturbed: the natural breakdown of bone tissue is excessively pronounced, the consequence of osteoporosis (also called bone loss) is an increased risk of bone fractures.

Recognizing and preventing osteoporosis: Make sure you take calcium and vitamin D

The right diet is largely responsible for physical well-being. In addition to the entire organism, the health of the bones and muscles is strengthened. The most important thing is the right combination of diet and physical activity. Together, the two components ensure a strong and healthy body structure, even in old age.

Our skeleton consists of around 210 bones, which store 98 percent of our body’s calcium. So it’s no wonder that calcium in particular is of particular importance in the right diet. In addition to calcium, vitamin D is the second important building block for strengthening bones. Without the vitamin, not enough calcium can be absorbed in the intestine. Vitamin D deficiency can also have other dramatic effects on the body.

Even small changes in lifestyle make an impact

In most cases, a complete lifestyle change is not necessary to create a bone-friendly meal plan. Small, simple changes are often enough: less meat, sausage, salt and fat – but more vegetables and fruit. Green vegetables and fruits are ideal sources of vitamins, minerals and fiber.

Eat as diverse as possible
Potatoes and grain products are essential
Fresh fruit and vegetables several times a day
Less meat
Less high-fat foods
Sugar and salt in moderation
Drink enough liquid
Fresh and gentle preparation of the food

Calcium intake is particularly important

Milk and milk products such as yoghurt, cheese or certain types of hard cheese are best suited to cover the daily requirement.
Vitamin D* is mainly found in fatty sea fish such as herring, mackerel or salmon. However, only around ten to 20 percent of the vitamin D household can be covered through food.
The rest is absorbed through exposure to sunlight. A short walk is usually enough.

Osteoporosis prevention: beware of the “calcium thieves”

While vitamin D and calcium promote bone formation, there are also numerous foods that are bad for skeletal stability.

Then there is talk of so-called “calcium robbers” that slow down the body’s absorption of calcium. You should therefore avoid the following foods or only consume them in small amounts:
Black tea
Coffee
Oxalic acid (e.g. found in beetroot, chocolate or rhubarb)
Phosphates (e.g. contained in ready meals, fast food, cola, lemonades, processed cheese)
sausage and meat
alcohol
Very greasy food
Too much salt

Often forgotten: magnesium for the bones

Vitamin D and calcium form the basis for strong bones, but 60 percent of the magnesium* in our body is also stored in our bones. It is important for bone metabolism and is mainly found in legumes, nuts and whole grain products.

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Food

Calcium Ensures Strong Bones and Teeth

Calcium – we need it for our bones and teeth, everyone knows that. It’s in milk and dairy products, but how do vegans actually meet their calcium needs?

An adult has about a kilo of it “built into” their bones and teeth! Growing children and adolescents in particular should ensure they have sufficient calcium intake. No problem, one would think, since calcium is the fifth most common element in the earth’s crust!

functions of calcium

Calcium strengthens and builds bones and teeth, that much is clear. But the mineral is also indispensable for blood clotting and other functions:

It stabilizes the cell walls
is involved in the transmission of stimuli from nerves and muscle cells,
participates in the digestion of carbohydrates,
is needed to form some hormones and
activates enzymes.
In addition, calcium plays a key role in successfully and constantly regulating the pH value of the body, which is why “overacidification”, which nutritionists blame for countless diseases, does not exist in this sense.

What happens with a calcium deficiency?

If the body does not get enough calcium from the diet, the body overexploits itself in order to maintain all bodily functions: Calcium is released from bones and teeth.

Hence the popular saying “One tooth per child”, according to which mothers lose at least one tooth with every birth because their strength decreases with a low-calcium diet during pregnancy. The bones, from which calcium is released in the event of a calcium deficiency, soften. This condition is called osteomalacia in adults and rickets in children.

Calcium overdose side effects

If you don’t swallow any dietary supplements, you don’t have to worry about overdosing, because it’s not possible to take in too much of the mineral with your diet. Anyone who regularly swallows effervescent tablets or pills with calcium can disrupt their kidney function and form urinary stones.

There are studies that indicate that excessive intake without indication in healthy people leads to higher mortality, for example from prostate cancer or heart attacks. The EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) has therefore set a maximum daily limit of 2500 milligrams.

Daily requirement of calcium

Adolescents between the ages of ten and 19 have the highest calcium requirement. The German Society for Nutrition (DGE) recommends a daily intake of 1200 milligrams, adults should take in 1000 milligrams per day with their diet.

But calcium alone is of relatively little use to the body, it needs the “installation helper” vitamin D, which is essential for calcium metabolism. Your body can produce vitamin D itself from sunlight, only a maximum of 20 percent of it is ingested through food. Stay-at-home pets should also seek advice from their doctor regarding their calcium balance and vitamin D.

To prevent osteoporosis, a stable skeleton should be ensured from a young age, and an optimal supply of calcium is particularly important for this. Even those who already suffer from osteoporosis should not take in more than the 2500 milligrams per day recommended by the EFSA in view of possible further health risks – as the total amount of calcium ingested through food and dietary supplements.

What foods contain calcium?

The daily glass of milk at breakfast in our childhood served to make us “big and strong.” In fact, dairy products are one of the best sources of calcium.

Anyone who does not consume dairy products because there are arguments against milk can also meet their calcium requirements vegan. Some types of vegetables and nuts contain a relatively large amount of calcium.

When calculating the daily intake of calcium, it must not be assumed that the total amount of calcium contained in the food is actually utilized by the body. This depends on many factors, such as vitamin D and the combination of foods.

Oxalic acid from various types of vegetables inhibits calcium absorption, coffee, alcohol, salt and protein promote calcium excretion. It is important not to take in the entire daily requirement of calcium in one portion, because the body cannot use it. Because calcium intake depends on so many factors, it is difficult to give specific recommendations for consumption.

You can use the following information as a guide:
Dairy products offer a lot of calcium, the more concentrated the milk in it, the more.
Hard cheese such as Parmesan can contain around 1200 milligrams per 100 grams, up to 10 times the amount of calcium as the same amount of milk.
Among the vegetables, kale, broccoli, fennel and Chinese cabbage are the frontrunners with up to 250 milligrams in 100 grams.
With nuts and seeds, it is quickly possible to absorb a lot of the mineral if you choose the following varieties: poppy seeds (2500mg/100g), sesame (800mg/100g) and almonds and hazelnuts (200-250mg/100g).
Wholemeal bread also contributes to the supply with 50 grams per 100 grams.

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