How to Get More Calcium into Your Diet

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Improve your bone and heart health and lose weight by increasing your calcium intake.

Step 1: Know how much you need
Know how much calcium you need. Adults require 1,000 milligrams of calcium per day. Children age 4 to 8 need 800, and kids 9 to 18 1,300. Men and women over 50 should get 1,200.

Tip
Do not exceed 2,500 milligrams per day. Too much calcium can damage your kidneys and interfere with the absorption of other essential minerals.

Step 2: Eat more dairy
Eat at least two servings of dairy foods each day. A cup of skim milk or yogurt or 1½ ounces of cheddar cheese provides nearly a third of what you need.

Step 3: Drink fortified juice
Drink a cup of calcium-fortified orange juice with breakfast to gain another third or more of your daily calcium.

Step 4: Eat more dark greens
Eat dark green vegetables. A cup of spinach has almost as much calcium as a cup of milk, and collard greens have more.

Step 5: Eat bony fish
Eat canned sardines and salmon with bones to gain another 20 to 30 percent of your daily calcium per serving.

Tip
Cut down on caffeine to get more calcium from the foods you eat.

Step 6: Get enough vitamin D
Get enough vitamin D. To absorb calcium your body needs this vitamin, found in fortified milk, cereals, and juices, and fish such as tuna, salmon, and mackerel.

Step 7: Take a supplement
Take a supplement if you can't get enough calcium from your food. For better absorption, take half in the morning and half in the evening.

Did You Know?
Calcium is the fifth most abundant element in the Earth's crust, making up three and a half percent of it.