Since switching to the Paleo diet and giving up dairy products, particularly milk itself, I get a lot of questions about where I get my calcium from. Before I even name some paleo foods that have sufficient calcium in them, I’d like to present some facts and thoughts that should alter the way of thinking about Calcium (and dairy consumption) you’ve been conditioned your whole life to believe.
Fact 1: The biological need for Calcium has been overstated. In contrast, excessive Calcium consumption causes osteoporosis. You can learn why this happens in a well researched, cited, and easy to understand article on the link from reference one below.
Fact 2: Bone health is not as dependent on Calcium alone as are supporting vitamins and minerals. Too much calcium intake inhibits magnesium absorption. Vitamin D is very crucial (some experts argue more so than Calcium) to bone density and health, and Americans fall grossly short of vitamin D needs.(although sadly, it’s the easiest one to obtain!) Vitamin K and boron are a few more nutrients that are important. (2)
Fact 3: If we really need cows’ milk, man could never have existed.Why? Because we have already been on this planet for millions of years. And we have only consumed milk for a maximum of 0.01 million years. This means that we did not drink a single drop of milk from other animals in more than 99% of human existence; in our entire development from ancient times to now.(1)
Fact 4: Dairy contains a high amount of calcium, but that doesn’t mean it’s bio-available in the body, in fact, research shows calcium from plant sources is absorbed much better than that of calcium in milk. The reason why is that calcium is a mineral that needs an alkaline environment in the body to be absorbed effectively. Unfortunately dairy as a food is acidic
So, we don’t need as much Calcium as we once thought, and we certainly don’t need it from other animals’ milk. We do still need it though, in concert with the other nutrients mentioned above. Here are some good sources, all Paleo approved:
Calcium in mg / 100 g
226 Hazelnuts
140 Egg yolk
132 Brazil nuts
96 Olives, green
87 Walnuts
54 Figs
44 Black berries
42 Orange
40 Raspberries
38 Kiwi
33 Mandarin
32 Human milk (included for reference only)
20 Coconut
18 Grapes
16 Apricot
16 Pineapple
14 Plum
13 Salmon
12 Mackerel
12 Mango
11 Watermelon
10 Avocado
9 Banana
Some other sources I don’t have numerical values for:
Leafy greens, notably spinach and broccoli
Sesame and flax seeds
Pecans
Remember, more is not really better. You don’t need to go eating hazelnuts like crazy to get tons of calcium. I cannot give you a numerical daily value to shoot for, but I can point out a study (Veganism, Bone Mineral Density, and Body Composition: A Study in Buddhist Nuns L.T. Ho-Pham, et. al.) that showed vegan nuns consuming less than 400 mg per day had the same bone density as non-vegetarian women who consumed over 1000mg. For reference, the National Academy of Science currently recommends 1000 mg/day for women ages 19-50 and 1200 mg/day for women 50+. Men need slightly less. Instead of shooting for a number, I advise just eating good Paleo foods and trusting that your body will take what it needs. This is but one of the many marvels of Paleo eating. It has worked just fine for me. In fact, I’d like to share a story that makes my faith in the paleo diet and lifestyle all the greater. In March of 2011 I was out riding my bike in a hilly part of town. As I was coming down a rather steep hill, a motorist at an intersecting street didn’t see me and pulled out into the road. I ended up t-boning his SUV at about 30mph. The impact dislocated my right shoulder, but after going to the ER, I was relieved to find out that no bones were broken. Not even a single hairline fracture. I wish my ligaments would have fared a little better, but at that degree of impact, something has to give. As I write this article 6 weeks after that accident, I’m happy to report that recovery is coming along quite nicely.
holistic drug rehab Florida Our highly successful treatment programs make us the best choice for addiction treatment. Visit us today.
dual diagnosis treatment Treating dual diagnosis stems further than learning to avoid triggers associated with your mental illness, as well as those that promote substance abuse. Learning to live a healthy, normal life is the key to recovery.