As I mentioned in my earlier post, cow’s milk is “THE” most over-rated source of calcium and mostly force-fed to children, either directly or by mixing with artificial, sugar-loaded health supplement powders. Even in the case of women and elderly, milk is given the supreme status with respect to calcium intake. It is not surprising that you see the availability of many women/elderly-specific health supplement drinks in the market, with a “fear” inducing claim related to osteoporosis and reduced bone density.
Calcium is important, not just for your bones but also for the effective functioning of heart, muscles and various other organs in your body. Calcium from plant-based sources is absorbed more effectively by our digestive system, whereas only 30% of calcium is absorbed from cow’s milk. Calcium is available in plenty in various lentils, grains, vegetables, greens and fruits.
I went through the data in NIN’s recently released "Indian Food Composition Tables - 2017" and made a table of such plant-based sources and their calcium contribution.
Please note, our requirement of calcium is in the range of 1000 to 1200 mg per day.
| Calcium Sources | Calcium per 100 gms |
| Cow’s milk, whole | 118 mg |
| Grains / Cereals | |
| Ragi / Fingermillet | 364 mg |
| Amaranth seeds (pale brown) | 162 mg |
| Nuts and seeds | |
| Till / Sesame seeds, black | 1664 mg |
| Till / Sesame seeds, brown | 1174 mg |
| Till / Sesame seeds, white | 1283 mg |
| Almonds | 228 mg |
| Mustard seeds | 402 mg |
| Legumes / Pulses | |
| Horsegram | 269 mg |
| Moth beans | 154 mg |
| Bengal gram whole | 150 mg |
| Rajma | 134 mg |
| Green gram whole | 92 mg |
| Black gram whole | 86 mg |
| Cowpeas | 84 mg |
| Dry peas | 75 mg |
| Bengal gram dal | 46 mg |
| Fruits | |
| Tamarind, pulp | 149 mg |
| Fig | 78 mg |
| Raisins, black | 73 mg |
| Dates | 71 mg |
| Raisins, golden | 52 mg |
| Green leafy vegetables | |
| Agathi Keerai | 901 mg |
| Curry leaves | 659 mg |
| Ponnanganni | 388 mg |
| Amaranth leaves, green | 330 mg |
| Drumstick leaves | 314 mg |
| Parsley | 288 mg |
| Methi leaves | 274 mg |
| Amaranth leaves, red | 245 mg |
| Radish leaves | 234 mg |
| Bathua leaves | 211 mg |
| Betel leaves | 207 mg |
| Mint leaves | 205 mg |
| Mustard leaves | 191 mg |
| Beet greens | 151 mg |
| Coriander leaves | 146 mg |
| Cauliflower leaves | 97 mg |
| Basella leaves | 94 mg |
| Palak | 82 mg |
| Vegetables | |
| Ladiesfinger | 86 mg |
| Baby corn | 77 mg |
| Elephant yam | 47 mg |
| Carrot, red | 41 mg |
| Carrot, orange | 35 mg |
| Spices and Condiments | |
| Poppy seeds | 1372 mg |
| Ajwain (Omum) | 1034 mg |
| Cumin seeds | 878 mg |
| Coriander seeds | 718 mg |
| Cloves | 567 mg |
| Pipali (long pepper) | 414 mg |
| Pepper | 405 mg |
| Cardamom, green | 378 mg |
| Cardamom, black | 312 mg |
| Asafoetida | 266 mg |
To increase your calcium intake,
(1) Include greens atleast 5 days a week. Make the extra effort to procure them from organic stores or local farmers if they are not available in supermarkets.
(2) Start incorporating ragi (finger millet) in your weekly diet in the form of idlis, dosas, rotis or porridge.
(3) Add Till/Sesame seeds while making parathas/theplas. Make till laddoos. Use till seeds in chutney podis. Store-bought chutney podis use very little till seeds since it can turn rancid quickly because of the oils in till seeds. Either make it yourself in small quantity as and when needed. Or you can procure it from EthnicPalate, my healthy food startup :-)
(4) Horsegram (Kollu / Kulith) is a super pulse and offers tremendous health benefits. Make dal, chutney podi, sambhar or rasam. Sprout it and include in salads. Or just steam them and have as a sundal for evening snack. Since horsegram is heat generating, include them in small quantitities during summer.
(5) Curry leaves are a rich source of calcium and iron. If you don't like to chew them while eating dal or sambhar, make a powder / podi. Sprinkle them in your dry sabjis. Finely chopped curry leaves can be added to adais, rava idlis or vadas.
(6) Eat a handful of dry fruits and nuts such as raisins, dates and almonds as a snack or add them to your porridge.
(7) Most of the spices we use in Indian cooking have plenty of calcium. Though Western foods are all the rage here in urban India, do stick to your roots and cook/eat Indian cuisine as often as you can. It is amazing to see how our cuisine celebrates such spices that not only adds flavour to dishes but also offer a plethora of healing and health benefits.
It doesn’t make sense to me to pop a daily calcium supplement tablet or drink a glass of processed calcium-fortified health drink when we have so many plant-based sources.
Also, there are 2 factors that are essential for calcium absorption and maintenance:
1) Vitamin-D as most of us know. Do spend time soaking in the sunshine everyday.
2) Reduce acidic foods such as caffeine, aerated drinks, alcohol and processed foods. In order to maintain the pH balance, our body tends to leech calcium from bones. Include more alkaline foods such as cucumbers, capsicums and lemons in your daily diet.
Hope this list is helpful. Do share your feedback/comments/questions if any.
P.S. If you are pregnant or lactating, then the calcium requirement is higher and so please consult with your doctor.
P.P.S I'm not a vegan yet. I'm a vegetarian and I do eat milk-based products. But I just can't accept this ridiculous claim of milk being a super food for women and children.