It is very important to ensure I get enough calcium in my diet. Calcium is beneficial to the nervous system, muscles, heart and bone; all incredibly vital to our health. Many people assume that the only place we get our calcium from is dairy products, but this is far from the truth. Dairy does provide a lot of calcium, however, you can get just as much from a variety of fish, nuts, vegetables, beans and lentils.
According the NHS UK, the average adult needs around 700 mg’s of calcium each day [Source]. Below is a list of the approximate amount of calcium you can get from a variety of food types [Source].
Dairy
- Milk (semi-skinned) – 240mg per 200ml serving.
- Natural yoghurt – 207mg per 150g serving.
- Hard cheese (e.g. cheddar, parmesan, emmental) – 240mg per 30g serving.
Fish, seafood and eggs
- Cod/trout/hearing/whitebait – 20mg per 120g serving.
- Canned tuna – 34mg per 120g serving.
- Canned sardines, in oil – 240mg per 60g serving.
- Shrimp – 45mg per 150g serving.
- Egg – 27mg per 50g serving.
Just as a quick comparison, red meat only delivers around 7mg of calcium per 120g serving.
Beans and lentils
- Lentils – 40mg per 80g raw/ 200g cooked serving.
- Chick peas – 99mg per 80g raw/ 200g cooked serving.
- White beans – 132mg per 80g raw/ 200g cooked serving.
- Red beans – 93mg per 80g raw/ 200g cooked serving.
Vegetables
- Broccoli – 112mg per 120g (raw) serving
- Gombo/okra – 77mg per 120g (raw) serving
- Cress – 188mg per 120g (raw) serving
- Rhubarb – 103mg per 120g (raw) serving
Nuts and seeds
- Almonds – 75mg per 30g serving
- Hazelnuts – 56mg per 30g serving
- Tahini paste – 42mg per 30g serving
Others
- Soy drink (non-enriched) – 26mg per 200ml serving.
- Soy drink (calcium-enriched) – 240mg per 200ml serving.
- Tofu – 126mg per 120g serving
With a healthy diet consisting of a variety of the food sources above, it is easy to get a sufficient level of calcium each day. A good example to get you started is our Sesame Falafel Wraps with Homemade Tahini, which is packed full of calcium-rich chickpeas, sesame seeds and watercress.
