How can i make sure i’m getting enough calcium while trying to lose weight?
A pint (around 2 cups) of skim milk has just 190 calories and is higher in calcium than whole milk. Skimmed milk contains 25 mg more calcium than whole milk. If you only drink three glasses of skim milk a day (one with every meal), you’re well on your way to getting the calcium you need. The German Society of Osteology (DVO) recommends that adults consume between 1,000 and 1,500 milligrams (mg) of calcium daily.
You can incorporate this amount into your diet by consuming foods and drinks that contain calcium. Calcium-rich foods include cow’s milk, yogurt, cheeses such as Gouda and Emmentaler, green vegetables such as spinach and broccoli, and calcium-rich mineral water (more than 150 mg of calcium per liter). Dairy products made from low-fat cow’s milk also contain a lot of calcium. Some foods, such as certain breakfast cereals and juices, are fortified with calcium.
Dairy products boost your metabolism and help you lose weight. Strong bones are formed in childhood and teens. As people age, starting in their twenties, they gradually lose bones. Teens need to get enough calcium in their diet to build strong bones and combat bone loss later in life.
For example, a pot of yogurt (200 ml) contains around 260 mg of calcium, and a serving of cooked spinach contains around 310 g of calcium. Calcium is the most abundant mineral in your body and can be easily overlooked if you’re paying attention to calories, protein, and other important nutrients. If you think you’re not getting enough calcium or vitamin D in your diet, talk to your doctor about supplements. Heaney has found the effect of calcium in five of his own studies, which examined almost 1,000 women over a period of 20 years.
Many other foods also contain calcium and contribute to your overall calcium intake, but usually to a lesser extent. Calcium carbonate requires existing stomach acid to be absorbed, so it’s best to take these supplements with a meal. If you get enough calcium and exercise as a child, and do so as a teenager, you will enter adulthood with the strongest bones. Two servings of calcium-rich foods (such as an eight-ounce glass of milk and a six-ounce carton of yogurt) plus calcium, which is found in smaller amounts from other foods, bring your total to almost 1000 mg.
The more calcium there is in a fat cell, the more fat the cell burns — and the greater the weight loss, says Zemel. If weight loss is your goal, eat three servings of fat-free or low-fat dairy products a day, he advises. For example, if your average daily diet contains 600 mg of calcium, you only need to add 400 mg of calcium from a supplement to reach your recommended daily dose of 1000 mg. If you don’t drink cow’s milk or consume dairy products made from cow’s milk, it will be much more difficult for you to get enough calcium into your diet.
Knowing the best way to consume calcium and making adjustments to your diet (or adding supplements as needed) can help protect your bones.
