Calcium Absorption: Delicious recipes can revitalize your bone health!
You may think that dairy products are the only source of calcium! but science tells you: “No”.
There are other sources containing large amounts of calcium such as foods or fruits, here we will discuss an interesting guide to calcium fruits for bones and skeletal health.
Did you know…
About 54 million Americans have low bone density! Causing osteoporosis in aging.
You should know that Bones are not hard or lifeless organs, they are living and growing tissues, so you must take care of them to avoid bones and skeletal problems. And when we talk about bone health we already talk about calcium.
Calcium is an essential nutrient for building your strong and dense bones in the early stages of life and for keeping them healthy and strong when you age.
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps your body absorb calcium.
So, it is important to get enough calcium and vitamin D to prevent bone loss or fractures in aging.
How does vitamin D help in calcium absorption?
Simply, Calcium needs to be absorbed from the intestine into the bloodstream to be utilized for the body.
A protein called calbindin enhances calcium absorption by facilitating its transport across the intestinal cells and into the bloodstream.
When activated vitamin D transfers into the intestine and attached to vitamin D receptors(VDR), this process stimulates the production of calbindin.
Do you know! Vitamin D is not the only factor that affects calcium absorption. There are other several factors you have to consider to get the ultimate benefit of calcium:
- High phytic acid diet: found in whole grains. It binds to minerals and calcium making them insoluble and not absorbable in the intestine
- High levels of sodium: Excessive salt can interfere with calcium absorption and decrease it.
- Coffee and tea: Excessive use of caffeine can reduce calcium absorption.
- Smoking: showed reduced bone mass. The reason is not understood but it appears that smoking reduces calcium absorption in the intestine. PLEASE stop smoking to revitalize your bone health.
- Celiac disease: an inherited autoimmune disease characterized by gluten intolerance. It changes the lining of the intestine which affects the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin D and calcium.
Other factors can affect calcium absorption like an inactive lifestyle and excessive intake of meat.
So, ABH (American Bone Health Foundation) suggests you discuss these factors with the healthcare provider to evaluate your diet and lifestyle.
You can communicate Welltopia consultation team to get your online consultation.
Why do calcium fruits matter?/ why it is important to get calcium from natural sources?
Natural sources of calcium play a crucial role in maintaining optimal calcium levels in your body because:
- Calcium from natural sources, like foods, fruits, or dairy products, is highly absorbed and bioavailable.
- Natural calcium sources also contain additional nutrients that promote bone health like vitamin D and magnesium and phosphorous.
- Taking natural sources of calcium encourages dietary diversity, and you can obtain calcium from various nutrients, this promotes overall health and optimal calcium level.
Exploring the medium-difficulty guide to strong bones:
Throughout your life, you already lose old bones, while you make new bones!
So, you should protect your bones as you can by following these simple instructions:
- Get calcium and vitamin D and eat a balanced diet.
- Eat healthy food rich with calcium like fruits and vegetables and dairy products.
- Try to avoid smoking and alcohol.
- Practice regular exercise like; weight-bearing and muscle strengthening.
Remember, it is never too late to revitalize your bone health.
What are calcium-rich fruits?
there are a lot of fruits rich in calcium like:
- Kiwi.
- Pineapples.
- Tangerines.
- Litchi.
- Oranges.
- Papaya.
- Guava.
- Dried apricot.
- Blackberries.
Balancing Act:
You should know that eating a variety of calcium-rich foodscan help to offset any small losses.
So, try to get a well-balanced diet that helps you to get enough calcium.
What are other sources of calcium?
-
calcium-rich foods:
Fortunately, calcium is a widely available element in many foods. rather than fruits and dairy products, calcium is available in:
- Leafy greens like (kale, collard, turnip, and bok choy).
*spinach contains high amounts of calcium, but on the other hand, it contains oxalates which decrease calcium absorption, so it is not a good option to get your needed calcium.
- Almonds.
- Canned sardines, salmon(with bones).
- Winter squash.
- Some juices, cereals, and breakfast foods have added calcium to fortified foods.
Calcium Supplements:
The amount of calcium you need from a supplement depends on the amount you obtain from your diet.
So you have to read the food label to know how much calcium it contains and detect your need according to RDA (recommended daily amount)
You can contact with healthcare provider to recommend suitable supplements and adjust your dose.
Maximizing Bone Strength with Calcium-Rich Fruits:
As we mentioned before the role of vitamin D in calcium absorption. so, what about the combination of calcium and vitamin D in one formula? You can imagine the synergistic effect.
It’s important for your calcium-rich diet to make sure it also contains vitamin D.
Vitamin D may be added to dairy products and orange juice, soymilk, and fortified cereals.
What are the top calcium fruits for bone health?
- Oranges: I know the effect of oranges On iron absorption due to vitamin C content! But now I am surprised by how much calcium it contains. every 100 gm of oranges contains 40 mg of calcium!
Did you know? 8 oz of fortified orange juice contains 300 mg calcium which is equivalent to 8 oz of milk!
In addition to the high content of vitamin C.
- Figs: it’s amazing to know that 2 figs contain 65 mg of estimated calcium. it also contains potassium which is good for bone health, so figs are considered a storehouse of nutrients that help in bone density and help to prevent bone fracture and osteoporosis in aging.
- Kiwi:100 gm of kiwi contains 34 mg calcium. In addition to the high amount of vitamin C which helps in immunity and bone health.
Incorporating Calcium Fruits into Your Diet
Fruit lovers will be happy when they know that fruits are a good source of calcium. What about incorporating these fruits into your diet?! It is an amazing way to get enough calcium.
Fortunately, many foods can be delicious recipes that provide you with calcium and vitamin D for strong and healthy bones. for example:
Children(1_3 year) need daily about 500 mg of calcium, while adults need about 1300 mg of calcium per day which can achieved by eating:
- 200 ml of milkshake contains 360 mg of calcium
- 150 g of natural yogurt contains 207 mg of calcium
- 50 g of muesli (cereals) contain 21 mg of calcium
- 30 g of hard cheese contains 240 mg of calcium
- 60 g of sardines in oil contain 240 mg of calcium
- 120 g of chicken contains 17 mg of calcium
- 180 g of pasta contains 26 mg of calcium
- 100 g vanilla ice cream contains 124 mg of calcium
- 30 g of almonds contain 75 mg of calcium.
Easy ways to incorporate calcium fruits into your diet:
Calcium fruits can also be added to your diet in several ways to get a calcium-rich diet like:
- Slicing Orange kiwi or figs and add them to your breakfast cereals, yogurt, or oatmeal.
- Adding orange juice as a main drink with meals is considered a double-edged weapon! to improve food absorption due to vitamin C content and as a calcium-rich fruit.
- Adding fruits into salads to make a delicious calcium-rich side.
- Make fruit jams with figs and oranges.
- You can also add fruits into cakes, muffins, and bread to get a delicious calcium-rich food.
- Keep clean calcium fruits on hand as an easy delicious snack.
Calcium absorption:
Although 99% of calcium content is present in bones, the remaining 1% of calcium-free ions are involved in essential vital processes like muscle contraction, cell death, enzyme activation, transmission of nerve impulses, and immune response.
So it’s a clear urgency to know: How to improve calcium absorption?
- You can include vitamin D-rich foods into your diet which effectively helps in calcium absorption.
- Consider magnesium-rich foods in your diet like nuts, seeds, and legumes. Fortunately, magnesium also helps in calcium absorption!
- You should know that high caffeine intake can interfere with calcium absorption, so try to decrease coffee, soda, and other caffeine sources.
- Try to balance your intake of oxalates contained in some foods like spinach and rhubarb. However, it is an important part of a healthy diet but It can hinder calcium absorption!
- Consume daily intake of calcium from several sources throughout the day rather than from one source.
Conclusion:
You are never late to protect your bones against osteoporosis and other skeletal issues. This starts with keeping your calcium and vitamin D at normal healthy levels. fortunately, calcium can be obtained from delicious sources “fruits” like kiwis and oranges, and figs that you can easily incorporate into your daily diet. Calcium needs to be absorbed to be utilized by your body, there are several factors that help in calcium absorption including vitamin D and magnesium consumption while caffeine and oxalates hinder calcium absorption so, you have a high need to balance your diet to get a healthy meal. Besides balancing your diet it’s important to change your lifestyle by doing some exercises that help in bone health and maintain bone density like weight-bearing and muscle-strengthening.
