Calcium and Calcium-Rich Food Sources (for Vegans)

Recently, after hearing someone comment about calcium and calcium-rich food sources, I realized I’ve not shared how vegans get their calcium—how I get my calcium each day.

I’ve likely not shared this because, sometimes after being taught something, I assume others already know it. Or others don’t want to know it. Or others won’t believe it.

Because who else likes critical thinking? Who else cannot believe bad/faux science is allowed to exist as a comparison against good/solid science? My fact-seeking brain goes up in arms.

Calcium is an important topic. Endless people worry about getting enough calcium. So I’ll share how I get my calcium and why I get my calcium this way.

At the bottom of this post, I’ll also include the long list of calcium-rich whole foods I eat—including their calcium content, which I found by looking up each food here.

Calcium and Bone Density in Vegans

I have to admit that while re-familiarizing myself recently with research on vegans and bone density, I wasn’t sure what I’d find, as it’d been a while since I’d tuned into this subject.

I just knew that I’d studied this topic in my nutrition courses nearly fifteen years ago, I followed those recommendations, and I’ve seemed fine…

• my annual lab results show my calcium levels are as they should be

• when I had to have an MRI due to celiac disease neuropathy, my neurosurgeon proclaimed in disbelief how amazing my spine looked

• a horrible bike accident threw me badly and (while I was seriously banged up and took months to heal) I didn’t sprain, fracture, or break any bones

I also knew my Swedish immigrant grandparents consumed a lot of dairy, as my Grandpa made butter at his one-man creamery. My Grandma had osteoporosis, including two broken hips.

But that was it. That was the extent of my attention to calcium.

So I delved in, began reading again (transcripts with cited sources), and bulleted the following so my brain would remember what this research appears to be telling me nowadays…

• “we … care about bone mineral density because we care about bone fractures”

• “vegans … were at higher risk when they got under 525 mg of calcium a day … those getting at least 525 mg … there was no greater risk”

• “every additional cup … of cow’s milk a day was associated with a 9 percent greater risk of hip fracture”

• “plant-based sources [of calcium] include … almonds, sesame seeds … calcium-fortified plant milks … dark green leafy vegetables such as kale … any dark green leafies except … spinach, beet greens, or chard, which are stingy with their calcium”

• “given that fracture study, I’d recommend people make sure they’re getting enough calcium and enough vitamin D”

There was more. I went to the next discussion on this topic, which presented this research, which seemed to be telling me…

• “a vegan … diet … high in protein … whole grains, nuts, and legumes … every day reduced their risk of hip fracture by more than 60 percent, compared to 40 percent lower risk from meat protein, with plant-based meats … about 50 percent lower risk of hip fracture”

• “plant-based diets … when ensuring adequate calcium and vitamin D levels … don’t appear to have any detrimental effects on bone health”

• “[British vegans] … had higher risks of total bone fractures … high homocysteine levels … increase stroke risk … may increase the activity of bone-eating cells … investigators conclude … the elevated fracture risk … was only significant for those under a BMI of 22.5, which is like under about 130 pounds for a woman of average height … however … Great Britain is at Canadian latitudes … the sun’s rays are at such an angle during the winter months up there that the vitamin D levels among British vegans in the wintertime drop down to suboptimal levels … we should be up around 75 nanomoles per liter or 30 nanograms per milliliter … which the vegans nail in the summer … but in the winter, not getting the vitamin D … randomized controlled trials show that vitamin D alone doesn’t seem to reduce fracture rates, but boosting people’s vitamin D and calcium at the same time does … so, maybe it was … the relatively low vitamin D and calcium intakes among the vegans that led to their higher fracture rates … we won’t know for sure until it’s actually put to the test, and when it is, you can be sure I’ll do a video”

Boosting Calcium and Vitamin D (at the Same Time)

For years, I was depleted of multiple vitamins and minerals (malnourished) without knowing why or why it was so hard to fix this issue. Then the answer: I had biopsy-verified Celiac disease.

Back then, my doctor had me take a high-dose vitamin D supplement for a bit because lower doses were not boosting my levels. I was that depleted, and Celiac disease was still interfering.

Now, my doctor checks my vitamin D levels annually, and I can independently have my levels tested whenever I feel like it’s a wise thing to do. (More on that in another post.)

So, how do I get my vitamin D now? I can now follow these recommendations to maintain healthy vitamin D levels, so my calcium and vitamin D levels are boosted at the same time.

Cow’s Milk vs. Soy Milk

For much of my life, I didn’t drink cow’s milk unless I could sneak chocolate into it (the rare “junk food” in the house). I didn’t like the taste of cow’s milk, but I was told to drink it, so I tried to.

I did consume a lot of other dairy as a child.

Unbeknownst to me, dairy products were causing the acne, allergies, and asthma symptoms I struggled with—which improved when I ceased milk and all dairy.

I do love the taste of really cold plant milk (well shaken up; only 2-3 ingredients). But I typically only use it over cold cereal, in cooking, or in baking. I otherwise default to water and tea.

When I choose plant milk, I can’t choose soy milk because my body does not do well on it.

Knowing all of this, I find this research extremely interesting…

• “after weaning, milk of any kind is not required, and really shouldn’t be relied upon as a main source of calories”

• “cow’s milk … does not appear to … reduce fractures … [and] carries risks … a potential association with type 1 diabetes onset, anemia in toddlers, lactose intolerance, cow’s milk protein allergy … infantile colic … the majority of adult humans … lose their lactase enzymes after weaning”

• “plant-based milks … [have] the same calcium and vitamin D levels … as many as five times fewer calories than cow’s milk … richer in … fiber … no casein, cholesterol, lactose, less saturated fat”

• “soy milk has the additional benefit of reducing breast cancer risk in girls … normalizing development … associated with lower prostate cancer risk in men … improved gut health by boosting the growth of good bacteria … anti-inflammatory effects … lowering C-reactive protein levels … desirable effects on phosphorus metabolism … significantly reduces free radical DNA damage … prevents bone loss in postmenopausal women … improve insulin resistance … help with stroke rehab … improving walking speed, exercise endurance, grip strength, and muscle functionality … lowering blood pressure in men and women better than cow’s milk … lowering your LDL cholesterol as much as 25 percent … nutritionally, soy milk is the best alternative for replacing cow’s milk in the human diet”

• “for reasons like these, Canada has … undergone a thorough review and update to emphasize the importance of consuming more plant-based products … the removal of dairy as a separate food group with … water included as the beverage of choice … [and] the removal of industry-funded studies from consideration as part of the evidence base”

Like all good things, I pulled up more research on this…

• “the #1 source of artery-clogging saturated fat is … dairy … one of the top allergens in the U.S. food supply”

• “[cow’s] milk … is the perfect food… for baby calves … that will turn a 65-pound baby calf into a 500-pound cow in just one year … if we need to gain a few hundred pounds, maybe … otherwise, we should … leave their mothers’ milk to them”

• “calcium in dark green leafy vegetables, like kale, broccoli, and bok choy, is absorbed about twice as well as the calcium in milk—and there’s a bonus: fiber, folate, iron, antioxidants, and the bone-health superstar vitamin K”

• “what you do get … in [cow’s] milk is saturated butterfat, cholesterol, lactose … antibiotics, pesticides, pus, and manure”

• “can you taste the pus? … the U.S. has the highest allowable pus concentration in the world … more than 300 million pus cells in just one glass”

• “two vats of cheese—one with high-pus milk … the other conforming to the more stringent European standards … the “less pus” cheese … tasted significantly better”

How Much Calcium Do We Need?

Calcium recommendations vary depending on which country we’re in, so it seems impossible to know, exactly, what calcium intake should be unless there’s science to back it up. That challenge made me read research (transcripts with cited sources) on how much calcium we need…

• “in the UK, the recommendation for adults is 700 mg a day”

• “in the US, it’s up to 1,200 a day”

• “newer data … suggest that the calcium requirement for men and women is lower than previously estimated … meaning our body is not stupid”

• “if we eat less calcium, our body absorbs more and excretes less”

• “if we eat more calcium, we absorb less and excrete more to stay in balance”

• “there may not be great evidence to support the U.S. recommendations”

• “the UK may have the right idea shooting for between 500 and 1,000 mg a day from dietary sources unless you’ve had gastric bypass surgery or something and need to take supplements … for most people, though, calcium supplements cannot be considered safe or effective for preventing bone fractures”

(Concerns About) Calcium Supplements

I was once a consumer who trusted anyone in the health industry who told me I needed to take calcium supplements. But I stopped taking those supplements years ago.

Thank goodness I changed my ways long ago because this calcium supplement research and additional calcium supplement research have been very concerning…

• “those who started calcium supplements suffered significantly more heart attacks or strokes … high dose or low dose … increased … heart disease, stroke, and death”

• “long-term calcium supplementation caused all sorts of gastrointestinal distress including twice the risk of being hospitalized with acute symptoms that may have been confused with a heart attack”

• “64% greater risk of hip fractures with calcium supplementation”

• “those that got the calcium pills had significantly increased mortality, lived shorter lives than the sunshine-only group”

Calcium-Rich Food Sources (for Vegans)

After reading through all the above research, I can say that it matches the nutrition education and recommendations I received nearly fifteen years ago.

This means I’ve been following the above recommendations for a long time.

So I want to share the long list of calcium-rich whole foods I tend to eat most—including their calcium content (highest to lowest), which I found by looking up each food here.

• chia seeds, 2 T, 179 mg calcium

• kale, boiled, 1 cup, 177 mg calcium

• mustard greens, chopped, boiled, 1 cup, 165 mg calcium

• white beans, cooked, 1 cup, 161 mg calcium

• navy beans, cooked, 1 cup, 126 mg calcium

• great northern beans, cooked, 1 cup, 120 mg calcium

• sesame (tahini), 2 T, 120 mg calcium

• black beans, turtle, cooked, 1 cup, 102 mg calcium

• almonds, whole, 1/4 cup, 96.25 mg calcium

• red lentils, raw, 1 cup, 92.2 mg calcium

• black lentils, 1 cup, 80.8 mg calcium

• quinoa, tri-color, uncooked, 1/4 cup, 80.8 mg calcium

• garbanzo chickpea beans, cooked, 1 cup, 80.4 mg calcium

• oranges, raw, sections, 1 cup, 72 mg calcium

• flax seeds, 2 T, 70 mg calcium

• kidney beans, cooked, 1 cup, 62 mg calcium

• kiwi, raw, 1 cup, 61.2 mg calcium

• artichoke, raw, 1 medium, 60 mg calcium

• green lentils, cooked, 1 cup, 60 mg calcium

• oat, steel cut, cooked, 1/4 cup, 59.4 mg calcium

• brussels sprouts, cooked, 1 cup, 56.2 mg calcium

• mung beans, cooked, 1 cup, 54.5 mg calcium

• leek, raw, 1 cup, 53.1 mg calcium

• oat, flour, 1 cup, 51.6 mg calcium

• asparagus, cooked, 1 cup, 46.8 mg calcium

• black beans, cooked, 1 cup, 46.4 mg calcium

• pinto beans, cooked, 1 cup, 46 mg calcium

• blackberries, raw, 1 cup, 43.5 mg calcium

• peas, sprouted/raw, 1 cup, 43.2 mg calcium

• broccoli, chopped, raw, 1 cup, 42.8 mg calcium

• fennel, sliced, raw, 1 cup, 42.6 mg calcium

• carrots, chopped, raw, 1 cup, 42.2 mg calcium

• peas, podded/raw, 1 cup, chopped, 42.1 mg calcium

• watercress, chopped, raw, 1 cup, 40.8 mg calcium

• celery, raw, chopped, 1 cup, 40.4 mg calcium

• cabbage, purple, chopped, raw, 1 cup, 40 mg calcium

• potatoes, sweet, raw, 1 cup, 39.9 mg calcium

• green beans, raw, 1 cup, 37 mg calcium

• peas, raw, 1 cup, 36.2 mg calcium

• artichoke hearts, quartered, cooked, 1 cup, 35.7 mg calcium

• arugula, raw, 1 cup, 32 mg calcium

• quinoa, white, cooked, 1 cup, 31.4 mg calcium

• walnut, raw, chopped, 1/4 cup, 29.1 mg calcium

• radishes, slices, raw, 1 cup, 29 mg calcium

• beets, cooked, slices, 1 cup, 27.2 mg calcium

• cauliflower, chopped, raw, 1 cup, 23.5 mg calcium

• pineapple, raw, chunks, 1 cup, 21.4 mg calcium

• millet, cooked, 1 cup, 20.88 mg calcium

• zucchini, raw, chopped, 1 cup, 19.8 mg calcium

• cucumber, raw, 1 cup, 19.2 mg calcium

• pecan, raw, chopped, 1/4 cup, 19 mg calcium

• mango, raw, 1 cup, 18.2 mg calcium

• avocados, raw, 1 cup, 18 mg calcium

• cherries, raw, with pits, 1 cup, 16.5 mg calcium

• 1:1 gluten-free flour, 1 cup, 16.28 mg calcium

• lettuce, romaine, shredded, raw, 1 cup, 15.5 mg calcium

• nori sheet, 2 sheets, 14 mg calcium

• lettuce, green leaf, shredded, raw 1 cup, 13 mg calcium

• lettuce, iceberg, shredded, raw, 1 cup, 13 mg calcium

• pumpkin seeds, 2 T, 13 mg calcium

• tomato paste, 2 T, 11.52 mg calcium

• grape leaves, canned, 1 leaf, 11.6 mg calcium

• lettuce, red leaf, shredded, raw, 1 cup, 9.25 mg calcium

• blueberries, raw, 1 cup, 8.8 mg calcium

• brazil (4/month), raw, 1/4 cup, 8 mg calcium

• cranberries, raw, whole, 1 cup, 8 mg calcium

• potatoes, cooked, 1 cup, 7.8 mg calcium

• apples, chopped, 1 cup, 7.5 mg calcium

• peaches, raw, 1 cup, 6.2 mg calcium

• corn, sweet, raw, 1 cup, 2.9 mg calcium

• mushrooms, raw, 1 cup, 2.1 mg calcium

A Typical Day of Eating Plant Calcium

To give an idea of what my calcium-rich foods might look like each day, here’s just one example of what I might include in a day (of course, I eat more food than what’s listed below)…

breakfast pudding

• chia seeds, 1 T, 89.5 mg calcium

• flax seeds, 1 T, 35 mg calcium

• blackberries, raw, 1 cup, 43.5 mg calcium

snack

• almonds, whole, 1/4 cup, 96.25 mg calcium

• walnut, raw, chopped, 1/4 cup, 29.1 mg calcium

lunch

• kale, boiled, 1 cup, 177 mg calcium

• garbanzo chickpea beans, cooked, 1 cup, 80.4 mg calcium

snack

• oranges, raw, sections, 1 cup, 72 mg calcium

• nori sheet, 2 sheets, 14 mg calcium

dinner

• quinoa, white, cooked, 1 cup, 31.4 mg calcium

• potatoes, sweet, raw, 1 cup, 39.9 mg calcium

• apples, chopped, 1 cup, 7.5 mg calcium

That’s more than 700 mg of calcium and doesn’t include the additional calcium in the additional food I add to these meals.

Based on what research tells me at this time (if it were to change, I’d adjust accordingly) … I feel extremely grateful for my dietary calcium intake.