The Role of Calcium:Calcium is essential in the achievement and maintenance of normal bone health, an important health issue considering bone loss accelerates with age and one in three women will suffer a fracture due to insufficient bone density. Women up to age 50 and men up to age 70 need 1000 mgs a day, while men and women above these ages need 1200 mgs a day.
The Controversy: There has been research published in the last few years suggesting a link between calcium supplements and heart attacks.
The Research:
- A study in Sweden tracked over 61,000 women for 19 years and found that calcium supplement takers who got at least 1,400 mgs of calcium a day (from food and calcium supplements) were 2.5 times more like to die than calcium supplement takers who got 600 to 1,000 mg a day.
- German researchers who followed about 24,000 men and women for 11 years found that those who took calcium supplements had roughly double the risk of a heart attack of those who didn’t take supplements. However, less than 4% of the participants reported taking calcium, and there was no information for how much supplementation they took.
- In the U.S., more than 388,000 Americans were tracked for 12 years and men who take at least 1,000 mg of calcium a day from calcium supplements or multivitamins had about a 20 percent higher risk of dying of heart disease than men who took no calcium. However, the risk was also only higher among men who smoked. Women who took calcium supplements or multivitamins had no higher risk.
The Bottom Line: Aim for the Recommended Dietary Allowance for calcium, but no more (reminder: 1000 mg for women <50 and men <70, 1200 mg for women >50 and men >70). Why stop at the RDA? The evidence is far from conclusive, but it’s possible that taking high daily doses of calcium supplements (1000 mg or more) may harm the heart. And there’s no evidence that more is better.
Sources of Calcium: Try to get calcium from foods first. Cheese, yogurt and cows milk has about 300 mg of calcium per serving and a typical diet gets around 300 mg from other foods.
| Dairy and Soy | Amount | Calcium (mg) |
| Milk (skim, low fat, whole) | 1 cup | 300 |
| Buttermilk | 1 cup | 300 |
| Cottage Cheese | 0.5 cup | 65 |
| Ice Cream or Ice Milk | 0.5 cup | 100 |
| Sour Cream, cultured | 1 cup | 250 |
| Soy Milk, calcium fortified | 1 cup | 200 to 400 |
| Yogurt | 1 cup | 450 |
| Yogurt drink | 12 oz | 300 |
| Carnation Instant Breakfast | 1 packet | 250 |
| Hot Cocoa, calcium fortified | 1 packet | 320 |
| Nonfat dry milk powder | 5 Tbsp | 300 |
| Brie Cheese | 1 oz | 50 |
| Hard Cheese (cheddar, jack) | 1 oz | 200 |
| Mozzarella | 1 oz | 200 |
| Parmesan Cheese | 1 Tbsp | 70 |
| Swiss or Gruyere | 1 oz | 270 |
Vegetables
| Acorn squash, cooked | 1 cup | 90 |
| Arugula, raw | 1 cup | 125 |
| Bok Choy, raw | 1 cup | 40 |
| Broccoli, cooked | 1 cup | 180 |
| Chard or Okra, cooked | 1 cup | 100 |
| Chicory (curly endive), raw | 1 cup | 40 |
| Collard greens | 1 cup | 50 |
| Corn, brine packed | 1 cup | 10 |
| Dandelion greens, raw | 1 cup | 80 |
| Kale, raw | 1 cup | 55 |
| Kelp or Kombe | 1 cup | 60 |
| Mustard greens | 1 cup | 40 |
| Spinach, cooked | 1 cup | 240 |
| Turnip greens, raw | 1 cup | 80 |
| Acorn squash, cooked | 1 cup | 90 |
| Arugula, raw | 1 cup | 125 |
| Bok Choy, raw | 1 cup | 40 |
| Broccoli, cooked | 1 cup | 180 |
| Chard or Okra, cooked | 1 cup | 100 |
| Chicory (curly endive), raw | 1 cup | 40 |
| Collard greens | 1 cup | 50 |
| Corn, brine packed | 1 cup | 10 |
| Dandelion greens, raw | 1 cup | 80 |
| Kale, raw | 1 cup | 55 |
| Kelp or Kombe | 1 cup | 60 |
| Mustard greens | 1 cup | 40 |
| Spinach, cooked | 1 cup | 240 |
| Turnip greens, raw | 1 cup | 80 |
Fruits
| Figs, dried, uncooked | 1 cup | 300 |
| Kiwi, raw | 1 cup | 50 |
| Orange juice, calcium fortified | 8 oz | 300 |
| Orange juice, from concentrate | 1 cup | 20 |
Legumes
| Garbanzo Beans, cooked | 1 cup | 80 |
| Legumes, general, cooked | 0.5 cup | 15 to 50 |
| Pinto Beans, cooked | 1 cup | 75 |
| Soybeans, boiled | 0.5 cup | 100 |
| Temphe | 0.5 cup | 75 |
| Tofu, firm, calcium set | 4 oz | 250 to 750 |
| Tofu, soft regular | 4 oz | 120 to 390 |
| White Beans, cooked | 0.5 cup | 70 |
Grains
| Cereals (calcium fortified) | 0.5 to 1 cup | 250 to 1000 |
| Amaranth, cooked | 0.5 cup | 135 |
| Bread, calcium fortified | 1 slice | 150 to 200 |
| Brown rice, long grain, raw | 1 cup | 50 |
| Oatmeal, instant | 1 package | 100 to 150 |
| Tortillas, corn | 2 | 85 |
Nuts and Seeds
| Almonds, toasted unblanched | 1 oz. | 80 |
| Sesame seeds, whole roasted | 1 oz. | 280 |
| Sesame tahini | 1 oz. (2 Tbsp) | 130 |
| Sunflower seeds, dried | 1 oz. | 50 |
Fish
| Mackerel, canned | 3 oz. | 250 |
| Salmon, canned, with bones | 3 oz. | 170 to 210 |
| Sardines | 3 oz. | 370 |
BMJ 2013. doi:10.1136/bmj.f228. Heart 98: 920, 2012. JAMA Intern. Med. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.3283.