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23
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Bone Health and Dairy Free
Getting enough calcium
Bone health is something we often take for granted whilst young, fit and well but shocking statistics indicate that we should be taking much more care, especially if following a Milk Free or Dairy Free diet. One in two women and one in five men over 50 will break a bone, mainly due to osteoporosis. To reduce fracture risk young people need to build up a good bone mass and key elements of this include plenty of weight-bearing activity and a diet providing adequate calcium.
The main dietary sources of calcium are milk and dairy foods so if you avoid these foods it is crucial to include plenty of calcium-rich alternatives in your diet. The recommended intake of calcium for adults is 700mg per day – use the table below to check that you are achieving this.
Note how low in calcium the unfortified products are. Always check the label and if calcium is not listed assume it is not fortified.
|
Food 100g |
Calcium mg |
Food 100g |
Calcium mg |
Dairy (Cow’s milk)Milk Cheese (hard) Soft cheese Yogurt Ice cream Milk chocolate |
120 740+ 230 120+ 100+ 240 |
Fruit and VegFigs (dried) Watercress Spinach / curly kale Currants Apricots (dried) Olives in brine |
170 150 93 73 61 |
Dairy alternativesSoya milk, fortified Organic soya milk Goat’s milk Sheep’s milk Rice milk Rice milk, fortified Goat’s cheese Soya yogurt, fortified Organic soya yogurt Soya custard Ice cream, non-dairy |
12 120 170 8 120 360+ 120+ 13 120 72 |
OtherTofu Tahini / Sesame seeds Sardines, tinned Red kidney beans Soya beans Almonds Brazil nuts Salmon, tinned Fruit juice with calcium White bread
Certain fortified breakfast cereals (including Cheerios*, Frosties**, Honey nut loops**)
|
500 680 430+ 100 83 240 170 91 120 177
|
Other diet tips for bone health:
- Get plenty of sunlight on your skin in the summer months to generate Vitamin D.
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Avoid too much caffeine, fizzy drinks, salt and alcohol and don’t let yourself become underweight.
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If you are unable to achieve the recommended amount of calcium on a milk free or dairy free diet or then you may benefit from a supplement.
- Published by Laura in: Being a Fussy Foodie Dairy Free
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4 Responses to “Bone Health and Dairy Free”
Hi Laura, this blog is a really interesting read and has definitely opened my eyes to how much calcium I should be having. I’m not convinced I’m getting anywhere near that amount with my dairy free diet so will definitely be monitoring my intake and even considering a supplement from now on!
Check out oatly which is calcium enriched for milk alternative.
Hi I have just discovered your site and it’s great!
Can I ask though why you include goats products as dairy free when they are not, my little boy is allergic to casein which is found in goats milk. thanks
Hi Alison, I really meant cow’s milk free rather than dairy free and hope that I have made this clearer now by re-naming the categories. The majority of people with cow’s milk protein (casein) allergy will also be allergic to goat’s and sheep’s milk protein so unless a separate medical test proves otherwise they are usually best avoided.
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