Okay, you’ve explained to family and friends how you’re meeting your protein needs, but what about calcium? If you’re like me, you grew up with the perception that it was important to consume dairy products daily to keep your bones strong and healthy. “Every body needs milk” is a one of the popular marketing slogans of our times. But what about calcium clarity for vegans, do you know where to get your calcium from when following a vegan lifestyle?
The truth is you can get calcium from all types of plant based foods that very likely could be better for you than dairy products.
Calcium is the most abundant mineral you have in your body. Your body needs calcium to maintain strong bones and teeth, move your muscles, help your nerves conduct messages, aid your blood vessels in circulating your blood and assist in the release of hormones and enzymes that effect nearly every bodily function. Wow sounds like a power house mineral to me.
Ninety-nine percent of calcium is found in your bones and teeth and the other one percent is found in your tissues and blood. Now, even though the calcium in the blood and tissues seems small in comparison to the 99% in the bones it plays a big part in your acid alkaline balance.
Your blood pH (potential for hydrogen) must be maintained within a narrow range of 7.35 to 7.45. Your body will take calcium right out of the bones and teeth if your blood pH falls below 7.35. You can read more about the “Power of pH” by following this link.
Your bones are an important reservoir of calcium that are called upon in case your blood becomes to acidic. For this reason it’s important to keep it continually topped off. Keeping your reservoir full requires you to eat an abundant supply of calcium rich foods for your body to assimilate and utilize and minimize factors that decrease calcium absorption and loss. Maintaining the mineralization of your bones and teeth is known as a positive calcium balance where, the loss of calcium from your body is a negative calcium balance.
Calcium Clarity For Vegans
Diet plays a significant role in the maintenance of your calcium balance. You can find good plant sources rich in calcium such as Napa cabbage, Bok Choy, kale, broccoli, sesame seeds, figs, almonds, Brazil nuts, celery, romaine, dandelion greens, endive Tahini and kelp to name a few. Dietary recommendations average between 1000 mg to 1200 mg daily depending on age and gender.
Eating good sources of calcium is isn’t enough to keep you in a positive calcium balance. You also need to pay attention to factors that enhance and influence the absorption of calcium such as Vitamin D, Vitamin C and Boron.
Phytic acid and oxalic acid are 2 main substances that decrease the availability of calcium to you. These 2 acids bind to calcium and decrease the availability of your body to use it . Phytic acid is found in grains and legumes and a very easy way to get around the phytic acid issue and make the calcium more bio available to you, is to simply soak and sprout your grains and legumes.
Oxalic acid is found in spinach, parsley, amaranth, mustard greens, leeks, Swiss chard cocoa, chocolate and more. There is evidence pointing to the bio availability of the calcium when foods that contain oxalic acids are heated. Don’t go and throw all these foods out with the bath water, they are beneficial to your daily nutrient intake, just not as your main source of calcium.
Just a note on animal products as a healthy options for calcium. Many peer-reviewed scientific journals and studies have found a direct link between animal protein consumption and calcium loss in the urine. There is also a growing body of knowledge that shows acids are released into the bloodstream when digesting animal protein. Your body in all its wisdom will draw calcium from your bones to neutralize the acid build up in the blood. It’s important to note that this calcium loss does not occur when you consume plant based proteins.
Providing your body with the necessary calcium is essential for your continued health and wellness. Let your new slogan be “Almond milk does a body good”.