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Baby's in Reno with the Vitamin D, got a couple of couches.. |
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We all know that it's important that we get enough calcium and vitamin D, but studies show that only 21% of us get enough. The intake for the under 30 crowd is even worse, and this is a major problem because we don't build bone density after 30. This is problematic because inadequate calcium intake can lead to osteoporosis and because ricketts, a bone disease caused by inadequate levels of vitamin D, is again on the rise.
Furthermore, both calcium and vitamin D have been shown to have numerous health benefits beyond the obvious strong bones. Vitamin D has been proven to preserve muscle strength, aid the nervous system, and provide some protection against multiple sclerosis (MS), diabetes, and some forms of cancer. Calcium boosts your metabolism and aids in weight loss, protects your heart by lowering blood pressure, improves symptoms of PMS, protects against colon cancer, and protects your teeth. Doesn't get much better than that!
So this week's challenge is to get enough calcium and vitamin D for the entire week! Get 'em both, any which way you can...while naturally occuring dietary sources are best, fortified foods and supplements count too! Next Monday, we'll post a wrap up post to see how everyone did!
Read more below to learn about how much you need and what to eat!
So how much calcium do you need??
Teenagers (9-18 years) 1300 mg
Adults (19-50) 1000 mg
Pregnant or nursing women 1200 mg
Where can you get it?
Dairy (between 40--15% depending on the source and serving size), fortified soy products (between 30-15%), salmon (about 22% in 4 oz), rhubarb (35% in 1 cup), collard greens (34% in 1cup), kale (17% in 1 cup), white beans (17% in 1 cup), beet greens (16% in 1 cup), and broccoli (18% in 1 cup). You can also find calcium in fortified foods and drinks like cereals, power bars, antacids, orange juice and other items, and of course, you can get your calcium from supplements too.
A few quick notes on calcium:
-Your body can't absorb more than 50% or 500mg at a time. If you take more, it gets wasted. Your best bet is to split your supplements or your servings up.
-If you hate pills, they have calcium chews that taste like candy! Talk about a delicious way to get nutrition!
-Make sure you get your calcium pills from a reliable, well-known brand. Lesser know calcium supplements have been known to have high lead contents.
-While calcium citrate is better absorbed, it tends to be more expensive. Calcium carbonate tends to do the job just as well, and it's way cheaper. Don't waste your money on coral calcium. There are no real benefits associated with it, and it's super pricey.
-A lot of calcium supplements now include magnesium and vitamin D. These are great additions because they have their own unique benefits; they enhance calcium absorption, and because we tend to be deficient in magnesium and vitamin D.
-You can get about 25% of your calcium in your latte or morning coffee!
So how much vitamin D do you need?
For Vitamin D in the US, the USRDA for adults is 400 International Units (IU), and the tolerable upper limits are (because vitamin D is fat soluble, it can build up and become toxic...although this is unlikely to happen unless you are taking an extremely excessive amount of supplements):
infants ( 0-12 months) 25 micrograms (1,000 IU)
children and adults 50 micrograms (2,000 IU)
pregnant and lactating women 0 micrograms (2,000 IU)
So where can you get vitamin D?
Vitamin D doesn't have that many dietary sources.
Concentrated food sources of vitamin D include salmon (102% in 4 oz) sardines , shrimp (40% in 4 oz), milk (24% in 1 cup), cod (16% in 4oz), and eggs (5% in one egg).
You can also get your vitamin D the old fashioned way, by getting some sun. In northern latitudes, 15 minutes 2-3x a week during the spring, summer, and fall is enough, but in the winter, it's difficult if not impossible to get enough through sun exposure. You can also get enough vitamin D by taking a multivitamin, by taking a calcium supplement that includes vitamin D, or by eating fortified items like cereal or soy milk, which usually contain vitamin D.
So who's in??????????
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