Don't drink cow's milk to get calcium!

We all know we need calcium.

We are bombarded with "calcium enriched" products on the shelves everywhere, from milk to cereal!

Why do we need to if calcium is the most abundant mineral found in your body?Approximately 99% of the calcium in your body is found in your bones and teeth while the remaining 1% is found in your blood and remaining tissues.

• Calcium helps to form strong teeth and bones
• Calcium allows muscle tissue to grow and contract properly during physical activities
• Calcium helps regulate blood pH, which is essential to your body's ability to properly transport oxygen and carbon dioxide
• Calcium allows for proper blood coagulation
• Calcium allows for proper functioning of your heart and nerves

Your bones and teeth serve as reservoirs of calcium that your blood taps into for its ongoing need for calcium. In the end, the amount of calcium that your blood gets from your bones and teeth is determined by the amount of calcium that your blood receives from your diet.

Obviously, the health of your bones is closely linked to how many calcium-rich foods you eat and how well you digest and assimilate them.

Here are some healthy, whole food sources of calcium:

Whole Food Sources Serving Calcium (mg)
Sardines 3 ounces 372
Chinese cabbage cooked 1/2 cup 239
Spinach cooked 1/2 cup 230
Rhubarb cooked 1/2 cup 174
Wild salmon canned with bones 3 ounces 167
Kale cooked 1 cup 122
White beans cooked 1/2 cup 113
Bok choy cooked 1/2 cup 79
Broccoli cooked 1 cup 70
Pinto beans cooked 1/2 cup 45
Red beans cooked 1/2 cup 41

Four additional healthy food sources of calcium are:

• Broths made with organic bones
• Organic, unpasteurized dairy from properly raised goats, cows, or sheep
• Super green food products that contain a variety of organic green vegetables
• Sesame leaves and sesame seeds

Eating plenty of healthy, calcium-rich foods does not guarantee that you will have healthy bones and teeth.

There are, however, a few concrete steps that you can take to promote healthy calcium and bone status:

• Strive to eat some of the calcium-rich foods listed above on a regular basis. Don't forget to apply principles of how to eat for optimal digestion and assimilation of nutrients.
• Do some weight-bearing exercise every day. I don't know of a single better weight-bearing exercise than walking outdoors.
• Ensure that you have a healthy amount of vitamin D in your system by getting some exposure to sunlight and eating foods rich in vitamin D on a regular basis.
• Choose to eat iron-rich and zinc-rich foods before resorting to synthetic supplement forms of iron and zinc.
• Soak whole grains overnight before preparing them to eat.
• Find ways to effectively manage emotional stressors in your life. Be on the lookout for a new article on this topic that I will post in the near future.
• Don't use large amounts of flesh meats, flour products, salt, and caffeine. Sugar is best avoided completely.