Calcium and the "Sunshine" Vitamin D

By: Wendy Wu, R.D., M.S.

Why do we need Calcium?

1) Build and maintain bones and teeth

2) Allows blood to clot so you don’t bleed to death when you get a cut.

3) Transmission of nerve system messages, or communication between your brain and the rest of your body.

4) Muscle contraction and relaxation

Okay, not really, it’s more like this…

*snore*

What hinders Calcium absorption?

Jeremy Lin Blocked from taking a shot!

Dietary components that bind calcium and hinder its absorption include oxalic acid and phytic acid.

-Oxalic acid are found in some green leafy vegetables, particularly spinach and rhubarb. This is the reason why your mom tells you not to eat spinach and tofu together.

-Phytic acid is found in nuts, seeds, cocoa, coconut, legumes and grains. Having small amounts of these foods is fine but if you’re diagnosed with a mineral deficiency and you do consume a whole lot of the above foods, I’d suggest some techniques to lower your phytic acid intake.

Too much protein and sodium (salt) in the diet may also increase calcium excretion through the kidneys.

For every cup of coffee (equivalent to 150 mg of caffeine), approximately 5 mg of calcium is excreted in the urine.

…and also excessive alcohol intake. Just to mention a few.

How much calcium do we
need?

1,000 mg a day for adults under 50 years and 1200 mg a day for adults over 51 years

Food Sources:

1 cup calcium fortified breakfast cereal (~150 mg)

1 cup (8oz) milk, soy milk, almond milk and rice milk (~300 mg)

1 cup (8oz) calcium fortified Tropicana Orange Juice (~350mg).

(Keep in mind that 1 cup also has 22grams of sugar which is equal to 5.5 sugar packets!)

6oz non-fat Yogurt, fruited (~250 mg)

1 cup cooked broccoli (~70 mg)

1 cup cooked chinese broccoli aka gai lan (~90 mg)

1 cup cooked chinese cabbage aka bok choy (~160 mg)

Click on Pic for Recipe from Steamy Kitchen

1 cup small cooked white beans (~130mg)

1 cup cooked kale (~130mg)

3 oz Vitasoy tofu (~ 100 mg)

3 oz = size of a deck of cards

2 sardines, canned with bone (~90 mg)

1 oz canned pink salmon with bone (~80 mg)

1 oz= size of a golf ball

1 oz non-fat mozzarella cheese (270 mg)

Include these foods in your meals daily and you’ll get enough calcium! No supplements needed.

Here’s a plan for you:

1 cup + 1 cup

+ 6oz +1 cup = 1050 mg of calcium

That’s all you need for the day. Look how easy, and these food sources are more easily absorbed than supplements. Just saying. =)

Why do we need Vitamin D?

Because we’re not getting enough during the winter

milestostyle.com

or the fall…

or parts of spring

Vitamin D has many important jobs…

1) Aids in the absorption of calcium and phosphorus in the body. Kind of like this:

2) Regulates how much calcium remains in our blood

3) Plays a role in the strength of our immune system

4) Helps regulate cell growth

Recent research suggests that vitamin D might also play important roles in the prevention and treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, hypertension, glucose intolerance, asthma, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer.

It only takes a few minutes for fair skin, 15 minutes for tanned skin and 20-30 minutes for dark skin out in sun to get enough vitamin D (with no sunscreen) during the sunny months, but what about the months where we feel no sun? You’ll need to get your source elsewhere. From food or travel!

weheartit.com

How much Vitamin D do we need?

600 IU for people under 70 years and 800 IU for people over 71 years

1 cup (8oz) fortified milk (98 IU)

1 cup Almond Breeze unsweetened milk (150 IU)

1 cup Rice Dream Enriched Original (150 IU)

1 cup Organic Valley Original Soy Milk (180 IU)

3 oz  Tuna fish, raw (193 IU)

3 oz = a deck of cards

3 oz Atlantic Mackerel, raw (547 IU)

3 oz = a deck of cards

1 cup fortified breakfast cereal (37 IU)

1 Egg Yolk (20 IU)

1 tsp cod liver oil (450 IU)

3oz Vitamin D fortified Mushrooms= 100% of daily needs

This post focused mainly on the food sources and primary functions of Calcium and Vitamin D. As you can see, I didn’t get into all the wonderful details about their biochemistry. I’m sure we all know that we NEED this duo. Is anyone in your family diagnosed with osteoporosis? Then make sure you store enough calcium in your bones! Next time you get your blood tested, ask your doctor to include a Vitamin D level. Especially if you’re testing in the winter months. You should know if you’re deficient so you can do something about it!

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