What Foods Can Help You Increase Your Calcium Intake

Calcium is one of the most important nutrients in body. Being the main component of bones that make the entire basic structure of human physique, it is important that body’s daily calcium requirement is adequately met to keep your bones in good health. So, here is a list of foods that you could incorporate in your diet to help you increase your calcium intake:

• Milk: It tops any vitamin and mineral chart as the complete food. But talking about calcium, milk is the best source to meet the daily requirement. A cup of skimmed milk has around 300mg calcium, which could meet a third of your daily calcium requirement in one serve.
• Fortified food with calcium: For those, who are not too fond of milk or like a variety in their food, a lot of options are available now to increase their calcium intake. Understanding the sensitivity of calcium deficiency, a lot of products are available with additional calcium fortification. Substitute your regular food for such fortified items to increase calcium in your day. You can start with calcium fortified cereal or orange juice, one cup of which can give you up to 300mg of calcium.
• Sardines: Sardines are a great source of calcium with 3 ounces of it giving you up to 200mg of calcium. Canned sardines are easier to obtain and offer just as much goodness of calcium and owing to its versatility, is perfect for lunch, dinner or even snacks.
• Turnip: It is a little known fact about turnip’s goodness that it helps in increasing calcium intake in body immensely. One cup of green turnips can give you up to 200mg of calcium. You can add it to your lunch/dinner as a salad or even substitute it as a snack for mid day cravings. Curd/yoghurt: Research has indicated that curd might even be better than milk when it comes to calcium absorption in body, with 8oz of it giving you as much as 350 mg calcium. You can even try low fat flavored yoghurt if curd is not your thing, and it makes for an amazing snack.

It becomes exceptionally important for women as they are highly prone to bone deterioration due to lesser calcium consumption or absorption.