Calcium

Calcium is vital for healthy bones and teeth. It is also important for muscle and nerve activity in your body, including for your heartbeat. A lack of calcium can lead to rickets in children or osteoporosis in older adults.

Who is calcium important for?

Everyone needs calcium in their diet. The amount of calcium you need changes at different stages in your life. In your teenage years, more calcium is needed because your bones are growing quickly. At an older age, your body finds it harder to absorb calcium, which is one of the reasons older adults also need more calcium.

Where can I get calcium from?

The best sources of calcium are low-fat milk and milk products as the calcium in milk is easily absorbed by the body.

Calcium is also found in other foods, including dark green leafy vegetables, almonds, sardines, salmon with bones, tofu. Vitamin D helps to increase the absorption of calcium in food.

Calcium from food is best.

Calcium supplements

Calcium supplements should only be taken if you have difficulty getting enough calcium from your diet.

At menopause women will experience a decline in calcium absorption and/or an increase in calcium excretion, putting them at increased risk of osteoporosis and bone fracture.

The Nutritional Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand say that in postmenopausal women a high calcium intake will slow the rate of bone loss and may reduce the risk of fracture. However, it is not proven that getting your calcium from supplements will have this effect. Recent studies have begun to show there may be an upward trend in heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems in postmenopausal women and older men taking calcium supplements.

You need calcium for healthy bones and teeth, but it may be safest to get yours from what you eat and drink, rather than from taking a supplement. Calcium supplementation remains an area of controversy, so it is recommended to discuss possible supplementation, and dosage, with your doctor.

Tips to increase your calcium intake

Select reduced-fat varieties of dairy foods.
Have small amounts of raw, unsalted almonds as a healthy snack.
Make a green leafy salad with 45g tinned salmon as a quick lunch.
Have a pottle of low-fat, low-sugar yoghurt for a calcium-filled afternoon tea.
Drink a glass of milk with your breakfast or lunch.
Try adding some of the calcium-rich foods from the table below to your meals.

What else do I need to know?

Physical activity, especially weight-bearing exercise, is also important for healthy bones.

Calcium supplementation remains an area of controversy, so it is recommended you discuss possible supplementation, and dosage, with your doctor.

Learn more

Calcium Nutrition Foundation, NZ
Calcium Osteoporosis Australia
Osteoporosis Osteoporosis NZ

References

Preventing osteoporosis – looking after your bones Ministry of Health NZ, 2006
Food and nutrition guidelines for healthy adults Ministry of Health, 2003
Food and nutrition guidelines for healthy children and young people (aged 2-18 years) Ministry of Health, 2012
Calcium supplements NZ Formulary

Resources

Support

Phone Healthline for free on 0800 611 116 any time of the day or night for advice on any health issue, no matter how small. In an emergency, phone 111 for an ambulance.

Brochures

Calcium

Refugee Health Network and Auckland DHB, NZ, 2014

Recommended dietary intake (RDI) for calcium for NZ and Australia
Children	9–13 years	1000–1300 mg/day
Teenagers	14–18 years	1300 mg/day
Men	19–70 years	1000 mg/day
Elderly men	70+ years	1300 mg/day
Women*	19–50 years	1000 mg/day
Older women	50–70+ years	1300 mg/day
*Note the requirements for pregnancy and breastfeeding are not increased above the requirements for women who are not pregnant or breastfeeding.

Calcium is only found in certain food groups

A 250ml glass of milk contains about 300mg calcium; there are also higher-calcium versions available. Low-fat milk options are better sources of calcium than standard milk.
In non-dairy options, soy milk is usually fortified with calcium – check the product label.
Calcium is also found in other foods, e.g. dark green leafy vegetables, almonds, sardines, salmon with bones, tofu.
Dairy foods and seafood-based food have the highest amount of calcium, and this is more readily absorbed than plant, cereal or bread based calcium.

How to eat about 1000mg of calcium in a day

With dairy products		Without dairy products
Trim milk	200mls	Soy drink, fortified	1 glass (200mls)
Muesli	½ cup	Muesli	½ cup
Wholemeal bread	3 med slices	Wholemeal bread	3 med slices
Peanuts, roasted	¼ cup	Peanuts, roasted	½ cup
Broccoli, boiled	1 cup	Sardines, whole	4
Cheese, cheddar	2 slices (40g)	Spinach, boiled	1 cup
		Baked beans in tomato sauce, or tofu	1 cup
To make to 1000mg, replace trim milk with a calcium-enriched milk or add 150mg carton of yoghurt.		To make to 1000mg, add an extra ½ cup of almonds, a cup of soy drink or a slice of tofu.

Source: Preventing osteoporosis – looking after your bones Ministry of Health NZ, 2006

Calcium content of different foods

Food or drink	Serving size	Calcium content
Fortified milk (Anchor Xtra, Mega Calci-strong, Calci-trim) Anlene	250ml (1 cup)	450mg 400mg
Reduced fat milk	250ml	350mg
Standard milk	250ml	290mg
Soy and rice-based milk	250ml	325mg
Fortified yoghurt	150g	366mg
Edam cheese	16g	246mg
Processed cheese	1 slice	55mg
Colby or Cheddar cheese	16g	120mg
Sardines	2 sardines	110mg
Mussels	6 mussels	136mg
Salmon	½ cup	110mg
Tofu	½ cup	137mg
Baked beans	½ can	90mg
Chickpeas	½ cup	55mg
Taro leaves	½ cup cooked	120mg
Spinach, silverbeet, leeks, Chinese cabbage	½ cup cooked	45mg
Taro	½ cup cooked	41mg
Rhubarb	½ cup cooked	123mg
Fortified bread	2 sandwich slices	177mg
White, whole grain/meal bread	2 sandwich slices	80mg
Almonds	150g	300mg