My Calcium Conundrum

I remember testing the paleo waters almost a full year ago, and all of the nitpicky questions I had (or was I looking for excuses…?). One that stuck with me for a while was the issue of calcium. For the first two weeks of my 30-day paleo challenge I meticulously tracked all of my food in FitDay and calcium always came up short of the RDA.

I was concerned. I mean, calcium is like really important right? Especially for womenses. If we don’t get enough calcium our bones will get brittle and we’ll become warped hunchbacks in our old age.

I looked up lists of calcium-rich foods and tried to get more in my diet, but it wasn’t easy. I realized that I’d have to eat two pounds of spinach and a full can of sardines every day to get the 1000mg RDA of calcium. I started wondering if the paleo concept got something wrong in the dairy department.

Let me be clear, it’s not that I didn’t challenge conventional wisdom and thought that RDAs were the almighty word of the food gods. I already had a good idea, for example, that there was strong evidence that the 400IU RDA for Vitamin D was pathetically low. Somehow I was just so much more sure that I needed a buttload of calcium. At least I was sure until I started reading, and then things got murkier.

Here There be Discrepancies

See, first I had to realize that there are populations of people in the world who get less than half the accepted RDA of calcium and yet have fewer incidence of osteoporosis. Why? Is it something they eat, something they don’t eat, or something they do?

Secondly, because we people of North America are so informed about our need for calcium we put it in dang-near everything. We calcium-fortify a whole bunch of our foods, and most women following a standard North-American diet meet the 1000mg RDA of calcium regularly, but at the same time test low or deficient for calcium. That ain’t right!

The Science-y Part

Calcium is just part of a big picture. It’s like one spring or gear in a giant clock tower. It may be a very important gear, but it still won’t turn without all the other gears, pendulum, etc.

Looking at calcium intake means nothing if the body isn’t absorbing and using that calcium properly. To do this we have to look at the “other gears.” Specific to calcium absorpsion we need magnesium, vitamins D and K, and boron. Is this boron yet? Hah. So guess what kinds of foods provide goodly amounts of calcium AND magnesium? Fish and leafy greens!

But that’s not all! Calcium absorption is also affected by the environment in the body, the acid/alkaline balance. The paleo diet, full of fruits and veggies, promotes a more neutral acid/alkaline balance in the body which is better for calcium absorption (among other things). Dairy and grains are both acid-forming foods. In addition, grain also contain phytates; chemicals that bind and prevent the absorption of calcium, zinc, iron, and magnesium.

Holy epiphany batperson!

Though dairy does contain a good amount of calcium, what goes in the food hole doesn’t always stick around. If we set up our internal environments to encourage the absorption and retention of calcium we probably don’t need to hit the 1000mg calcium RDA.

So How Much Do You Really Need?

I have no idea actually. Just like there is no way to know how much sunlight is safe and healthy for everyone there are many variables that determine your real calcium needs. What I can say is that if you are not getting 1000mg of calcium in your diet every day but you are eating a diet rich in leafy greens, no dairy or grains, and goodly amounts of fish you are probably doing just fine!

Personally I regularly hit 500mg of calcium a day and I no longer stress that I’m not getting enough. If you want to try and up your calcium numbers a bit or if you like graphs here are a few calcium-rich foods you could consider adding to your meal plan:

Sardines, Atlantic, in oil, drained, 3 oz: 325mg
Pink salmon, canned, with bone, 3 oz: 181mg
Collards, cooked from frozen, ½ cup: 178mg
Spinach, cooked from frozen, ½ cup: 146mg

Oh and for crying out loud don’t forget your weight-bearing exercise. I don’t know why I even have to say this on a blog that is specifically about women and strength training. Studies have shown that weight bearing exercise can improve bone density even in post-menopausal women.

Final thoughts? Squats and milk are so last year. Try squats and salmon on a bed of greens instead.