Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the human body. It is an essential nutrient that forms bones and teeth. Due to its structural importance in the skeleton, bones will not grow properly in children when calcium is deficient and may lead to osteoporosis in adults. Most of the calcium in the body is located in the bone tissue and tooth enamel, but it is also present in cells in trace amounts and is an essential component for many of their functions.
Your body exerts a lot of effort to keep the level of calcium in your blood constant. Your bones will release calcium to raise the blood level if it drops due to a lack of calcium in your diet.
“As you grow older, your body absorbs less of the calcium in your diet, “For women, hormonal changes during menopause can drain calcium from your bones.”
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the recommended dietary allowances (RDAs) for calcium in milligrams (mg) are:
| Age | Recommended Amount |
| 0-6 months | 200 mg |
| 7-12 months | 260 mg |
| 1-3 years | 700 mg |
| 4-8 years | 1,000 mg |
| 9-18 years | 1,300 mg |
| 19-50 years | 1,000 mg |
| 51-70 years (men) | 1,000 mg |
| 51-70 years (women) | 1,200 mg |
| 71+ years | 1,200 mg |
In this article, we will introduce the most important calcium-rich foods you can adapt to your diet. You will see some dairy foods, but you will also be impressed with the variety of non-dairy foods that are actually high in calcium.
22 Top Food Ideas For Calcium Intake:
1) Shrimp
Shrimp counts as one of the foods with higher calcium content, and some preparations contain an extra of this nutrient. We could highlight dried shrimp, for example. The amount of calcium in dried shrimp is 7,100 mg per 100 g, the highest calcium level found in food. That is much more than a cup of milk.
Indeed, it is a lot because it is dried fish, and if you eat 10g, it will be enough to satisfy an adult’s daily intake. If you’re eating fresh shrimp, you can quickly increase the calcium intake by adding it to soaked or stir-fried foods, and it works all the same.
