Our bones and teeth are where the body stores most of its calcium. And smaller amounts in your tissues and blood. Your body strives to keep the level of calcium in your blood constant. However, if your blood level drops as a result of not eating enough calcium, your bones will release calcium to keep the levels stable, which might eventually result in weaker bones.
Although there are various calcium supplements in the market, a balanced diet is the most effective approach to maintain calcium levels over the long term.
Here are five foods that have more calcium than a glass of milk:
1. Spinach
Calcium content: 245 mg in one cup of boiled spinach.
You can add cooked spinach to your regular flour to make spinach rotis or us it in soup as a final garnish till it wilts.
2. Ragi
Calcium content: 344 mg in one cup of ragi flour.
You can add ragi to wheat flour to improve the nutritional profile of your rotis or make dosas or idli.
3. Halim or Garden Cress Seeds
Calcium content: 266 mg in 100g of seeds.
You can make halim drink using overnight soaked seeds mixed with lemon or make halim laddoos with jaggery.
4. Amarnath or Rajgira Leaves
Calcium content: 276 mg in 100g of cooked, boiled leaves.
You can use the leaves similarly as spinach, by adding cooked amarnath leaves to your regular flour to make rotis . Amarnath leaves make a great sabji or can be added to soups and salad.
5. Dried Figs- Anjeer
Calcium content: 362 mg in 1½ cups of dried figs.
You can slice dried figs and add them to everything from oatmeal to yogurt, or try them in this delicious recipe for Quinoa Salad with Figs and Mint.
So, if you are lactose intolerant or are trying to cut back on dairy – milk or milk products are not the only sources of calcium you need to rely on.
There are plenty of non-dairy sources like spinach, rajgira, ragi, fortified orange juice, almond milk and nuts and seeds that have equivalent or more calcium content than dairy.
(This article is meant for informational purposes only and must not be considered a substitute for advice provided by qualified medical professionals.)
