Information about Calcium

How much calcium do you need?

It can be difficult to find accurate information about calcium and supplements containing calcium. But, most dietary information about calcium indicates that the amount of calcium you need each day from ALL sources — normal diet, calcium fortified foods and calcium supplements — depends mostly on your age and sex:

		Recommended Daily Calcium Intake
	Age and/or Condition	Men	Women

	25 - 50 years old	1,000 mg	1,000 mg

	pregnant or nursing		1,200 -1,500 mg

	post menopausal:
	on estrogen replacement therapy		1,000 mg
NOT on estrogen replacement therapy			1,500 mg

	51 - 64 years old	1,000 mg	see above

	65 or older	1,500 mg	1,500 mg

Information Source: "Optimal Calcium Intake,"
National Institutes of Health, 1994

The latest information about calcium shows that it helps heart, muscles and nerves function properly. Calcium helps blood to clot. And, calcium helps build and maintain healthy bones. If our diets don't include enough calcium, our body takes the calcium it needs from our bones. Certain medications also deplete calcium from our bones. (For more calcium information from the National Institutes of Health, click on information about calcium.)

However, survey information shows the average American consumes only 500 to 700 mg of calcium per day. This amount of calcium is too low and can lead to osteoporosis. (For your information, 50% of women over 50 will have a osteoporosis-related bone fracture. But, calcium related osteoporosis isn't only a women's disease; 20% of men also have it.)

Experts recommend that we fill our calcium needs through the foods we eat. Here are the approximate amounts of calcium in some foods before they've been fortified.

Approximate Amounts of Calcium

Food	Amount	Mg of Calcium
Milk	1 cup (8 ounces)	290 - 300
Yogurt	1 cup (8 ounces)	390 - 490
Cheese, American	1 ounce	150
Cheese, American	1 slice (19 grams)	100
Cheese, Cheddar	1 ounce	200
Cheese, Parmesan	2 tablespoons	175
Cheese, Swiss	1 ounce	270
Cottage Cheese	1 cup (8 ounces)	155
Tofu (firm)	1 cup (8 ounces)	515
Shrimp	1 cup (8 ounces)	145
Walleye Pike Fillet (baked)	7 ounces	300
Salmon (canned with bones)	3 ounces	180
Cheese Pizza (Pizza Hut)	1 slice	300
Almonds (whole dried)	1 ounce	75
Broccoli (cooked)	1 cup (8 ounces)	95
Navy Beans (cooked)	1 cup (8 ounces)	130

After you figure out how much you get every day — on average — subtract that from the amount that you should be getting, based on your age and sex (see the first table above). That will tell you how much more you should add to your diet. For example:

Woman, age 70	1,500 mg
- from food	- 900 mg
Recommended supplement	600 mg

For more info, click on Information about taking calcium supplements.

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