Truth: In my six years in school, learning about nutrition, I never once had a professor discuss this whole “acid/base” theory. In reality, your body does an amazing job of keeping your bone calcium and your serum (blood) calcium in balance. Bottom line: If you consume too much dairy your kidney will reabsorb it and you will get rid of it in your urine. You will also get rid of it in your feces.
Truth: The average adult only consumes 500 to 700 mg of calcium per day, when the recommendation is 1000 mg per day. If you don’t get enough calcium, your body will steal it from your bones. Don’t you think osteoporosis should be more of a concern than this whole acid/base crap?
Truth: Too much of anything, for a long period of time, is going to be harmful, but it’s very difficult to get too much calcium.
Truth: You will absorb less calcium if you drink too much caffeine, consume too much fat, consume too much phosphorus, consume too much iron, consume too much sodium, etc. etc. It’s easy to consume too much of these, therefore it’s EASY not to absorb enough calcium. Bottom line: Don’t be afraid to consume calcium, it's likely your body is in need!
Truth: You can only absorb about 500 mg of calcium at a time, so do not load up on calcium in one sitting, it’s pointless (but not harmful).
Truth: Humans aren’t very efficient at absorbing calcium in the face of a low calcium diet, so don’t be afraid of calcium or you won’t absorb enough.
Too Much Calcium Causes Kidney Stones
Truth: Have you heard about how kids are getting kidney stones now? Do you know why? Because they are drinking Pepsi and Coke instead of milk. Bottom line: Not getting enough calcium in the diet is what really causes the stones, because calcium helps excrete oxalate, which is what kidney stones are made of. Also, drink plenty of water to prevent stones (another thing kids aren't doing!).
Truth: The calcium found in foods, like spinach, is in the form of calcium oxalate, which is not absorbed as well as calcium oxalate (look at your food labels to know which form your calcium is in). You can still get calcium from foods like spinach, however, just don't let it be your only source of calcium.
Truth: See my post about my soy philosophy. In short, 25-30 grams of soy are perfectly safe, as long as you do not have a history of breast cancer.
Calcium has been linked to decreased risk of:
Cancer
Osteoporosis
PMS (ladies!)
Obesity
High blood pressure
Here are some recent products and food creations I have consumed for calcium.
Calcium is found in salmon, but only if you are getting some tiny bones in the salmon (bones are where the calcium is located). Most canned salmon has bones.
Fish Tacos
Ingredients: 1 salmon patty (no bones..), chopped tomato, real Swiss cheese (30% DV calcium per slice), avocado, plain yogurt (30% DV per 1/2 cup), red hot, whole wheat tortilla
This was so good. The only problem was, I wanted another one!
Question: How do you get your calcium??
Question: Do you have any fun plans this weekend?
19 comments:
HELL YES FOR THE BUCKEYES!! Home state :-D
Great post, Gina. Calcium is a big concern for me (especially with all the conflicting info out there!) I take a supplement twice a day which gives me 1200 mg (+ vitamin D) and also eat a couple of yogurts (at least! ha!). I have started eating canned salmon a few times a week too. Though I drink soda a couple of times a day, and...yeah, the whole body fat/periods thing, etc probably outweighs the benefits of my intake. Question about the spinach- I eat a LOT of spinach (talking 1/2lb a day) and I read that the oxates (phytes?) can actually deplete calcium?
Enjoy your weekend!
I like your thoughts on calcium. I think health news, like other news, are reported in extremes. I guess shocking headlines "sell" a story. And often people don't read more than the headline. I have found that sometimes more balanced information is given toward the end of an article, even a newspaper article.
I take a calcium supplement (almost every day - I have to get better!) and eat organic yogurt & cheese in moderate amounts every day. I also am conscious of calcium in vegetables and try to get quite a bit of calcium through vegetable sources. Personally, I feel better about getting calcium through a variety of foods (that way, I won't be too worried by the next shocking headline!)....
Have a wonderful weekend! :)
I never knew salmon (especially canned salmon) had calcium. I like your thoughts on calcium. I had heard most of those thoughts and wondered if they had any validity.
Thanks for the info : )
thank you Gina for this post! You know how I appreciate it! I'll definitely get my mom to have more calcium rich food when she comes.
I didn't know about the salmon bones, thanks! :)
this weekend will be fun and sad. i'm leaving on Sunday night~~ :(
My calcium comes organic dairy or soy yogurt, spinach, broccoli, the soy in chick'n strips, fortified coconut milk, beans and lentils. I actually just found out recently that lentils had a decent amount of calcium in them!
Loved the post. I am glad you set the record straight. It helps to have some of the facts since I know so many people hear things from non-professionals and just run with it. I never heard anything either about this and acid/base balance when I was in school. I have a student now in one of my classes who just brought up food consumption and how certain foods alter this and make the body more alkaline. Sometimes when they post things that really are from the books, never in my learning and often times from bestsellers/fad diet books, I don't even know how to approach the issue. I teach online so everything is typed to my students (unless it comes up in my audio seminars), so I fear I look like the bad guy singling someone out and telling them they are following baloney. Sometimes I just let it go and only address it once other students either agree or question it. My ratings at the end of the term mean a lot to me and to my job so i hate to offend anyone, but at the same time I need to set them straight. Anyways, great post.
Thanks for such an informative post. Osteoporosis is definitely an issue in my family, so I try to get my calcium and Vitamin D. Viactiv is my supplement of choice because it's chocolate!
I also try to eat caned salmon (in addition to those patties because the are so good and good for you!), yogurt, and other whole foods with calcium.
Wow...thats really interesting. I actually worry about calcium a lot because I don't drink milk, and calcium supplements hurt my stomach. I do eat a lot of ice cream though haha. I need to work on getting more calcium though.
HA! Read this while eating a blend of cottage cheese, yogurt and milk with crumbled Dr Krackers in it! I LOVE your insight and suggestions, especially because it is research based...thank you!
Great post Gina!!
You know, I really don't get enough calcium and your post is a reminder! I usually have at least a cup of milk or yogurt most days - but I need to remember to work on getting more or taking a supplement regularly!!
Thanks for educating and reminding us all!!
Have a great weekend!!
Great content as usual Gina! I haven't checked out those Trader Joe's salmon patties, but i'm SO SO SO glad i read about it here. I gotta keep my eyes peeled for them!! THANKS for educating me in many ways girl! ;)
This is great, Gina, and really appreciated since there is so much conflicting info out there. Really appreciate and respect your take on things. Off to get some yogurt... ;)
Yogurt and almond milk = the most common ways I get calcium. I have heard a little about dairy foods being acidic and hard for the body to digest, and I think there is some truth in that for some people.
Hope you have a great weekend!
Do you even have to ask? GREEK YOGURT! and cheese! Hee hee hee! Not a milk person though, unless cooked into my oats. My dad eats a LOT of anchovies though. He keeps trying to force me to eat it. He thinks they're the BEST calcium source ever, forget the dairy products (he hardly ever consumes dairy).
Oh, and I keep forgetting to ask you, but when you comment on my blog, could you change the url? The url you put that has probably been saved is wrong and each time I come to your blog I have to type in out manually. Hee hee, sorry for the trouble! >.<
I found this interesting that a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1993 found that higher consumption of animal protein was associated with increased stone formation and that higher fluid intake was associated with decreased stone formation. Perhaps, the incidence and prevelance of protien spills over into the urine beyond the renal threshopd. Also, it has been my experience, that MD's have been receptive when I have requested a stone-risk profile to see what kind of stone-former the patient infact is, which will allow us as dietitians' to better assist our patients with food choices and meal planning.
(As an aside, my urologist told me that I went through what a woman goes through to give birth to a child--and I had twins! [smile.] Unfortunately, my stones needed to be surgically removed,as opposed to passing them.)
Thank you SO much for the incredible wealth of info about calcium! I am always concerned about my calcium intake, and your tips are so helpful - and they encourage me to keep focusing on calcium! I try to make sure I consume the RDA through food sources each day (yogurt, fat free cottage cheese, leafy greens, almond/rice/soy/dairy milk, etc :-) and I also take a calcium supplement - in fact, I've been meaning to ask your advice about this one for a while - in addition to dietary calcium, do you recommend taking a calcium supplement? If so, how much and in which form (calcium citrate, calcium carbonate, calcium together with Vit D, etc) do you recommend? Thank you SO much for your guidence on this issue!!
Organic supplement is better than synthetic ones because of its components. It provides the natural nutrition the body requires and is chemical free. Synthetic vitamins maybe harmful and can cause damage to the body's system.
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