You are probably well aware of the fact that calcium is a really important mineral in our diet because it lays the groundwork for our bones. It maintains bone density and prevents us from suffering from osteoporosis, a disease that leaves our bones brittle and easily broken.

But what you may not realize is that although osteoporosis and brittle bones usually happens in old age, calcium is important from the start to prevent the problems as we get older!

In fact, Calcium consumption during our growing years will encourage bone density and can prevent late life complications.

Everyone needs at least 1000mg of calcium a day. Post menopausal women need 1200mg as their body stops absorbing Calcium as efficiently.

Building our bones before we’re 30 is really important. Make sure your kids are getting the calcium they need, daily!

So this is one of the minerals that we pay particular attention to for our client’s diets, our own diets, and Tammy’s kids’ diets. Tammy’s daughter, Riley, drinks milk like nobody’s business. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, she’s asking for milk. Riley’s twin, Summer, on the other hand, doesn’t like milk one bit. Luckily, she likes cheese, fortified soy milk and yogurt, so Tammy makes sure that she eats these foods several times a day.

Although, calcium is most heavily provided by milk, cheese, and yogurt products, there are quite a few good sources from the other food groups.

Here’s a few that you should chew:

Kale
Okra
Sesame seeds
Almonds
Figs
Apricots

Tofu is another great source. Sardines are too, but watch out for the high sodium that’s usually used to preserve them in packaging. (Trader Joe’s makes a No Salt added variety that we’ve been loving).

Here’s to healthy bones!