Forums: January 2010 Kickstart Forum Archive: calcium
Created on: 01/06/10 12:51 PM Views: 1585 Replies: 8
bryce Joined: 01/06/10 Posts: 2	calcium Posted Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at 12:51 PM I was just wondering, does anyone know of some good vegan calcium sources? I just want to be sure that I'm getting enough. Thanks
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VeganRecipeGuy Joined: 01/03/10 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 131	RE: calcium Posted Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at 12:58 PM Greens are the best source of calcium in all of nature. That's how calcium gets into milk. Cows eat grass. This site is a little commercial, but there is a lot of good info: http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/assimilable_greens.html www
	Edited 01/06/10 12:59 PM Quote | Send PM | Link | Top | Bottom
shanna Joined: 12/30/09 Posts: 287	RE: calcium Posted Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at 1:26 PM that's how calcium *used* to get into milk. poor dairy cows rarely get to eat grass these days and usually are given calcium supplements in their feed! (which can also contain ground-up chickens, chicken poop, m&ms, and other "edible waste." ewwwww.) isn't that insane? considering all the calcium-in-milk-does-a-body-good hype! here's a [veganized] list from http://www.whfoods.org (not a vegan site, but mostly plant-based and handy for looking up specific sources of nutrients or nutritional info on particular vegetables): Quote: Excellent sources of calcium include spinach, turnip greens, mustard greens and collard greens. Very good sources of calcium include blackstrap molasses, Swiss chard, kale. Basil, thyme, dill seed, cinnamon, and peppermint leaves are also very good sources of calcium. Good sources of calcium include romaine lettuce, celery, broccoli, sesame seeds, fennel, cabbage, summer squash, green beans, garlic, tofu, Brussel sprouts, oranges, asparagus and crimini mushrooms. Oregano, rosemary, parsley, kombu, and kelp are also good sources of calcium. also see the info from the Kickstart FAQ (under RESOURCES) re: calcium and osteoporosis on the milk topic if you haven't seen that yet: http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/dairy.html i tracked my calcium intake with a nutritional software program once, shortly after giving up dairy. it was way over the RDA even with just my food, but it's also in my multivitamin. i don't worry about it anymore. hope that helps!
	Edited 01/06/10 1:27 PM Quote | Send PM | Link | Top | Bottom
VeganRecipeGuy Joined: 01/03/10 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 131	RE: calcium Posted Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at 1:34 PM shanna wrote: that's how calcium *used* to get into milk. Too true. Omnivores are no longer even getting what they pay for. The SAD diet gets sadder and sadder. www
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Richard Joined: 01/02/10 Location: Australia Posts: 15	RE: calcium Posted Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at 9:39 PM ‘Being Vegetarian for Dummies’ (I don’t think there’s a dummies book on being vegan yet, but this one does cover veganism as well) says that the following are calcium-rich foods: Dark green, leafy veg, such as kale, swiss chard, collards and mustard and turnip greens; Broccoli Chinese cabbage Tofu processed with calcium Legumes Almonds and sesame seeds Dried figs Calcium fortified orange juice or soymilk. Interesting points made in the book include: •   Protein - The amount of protein in your diet probably has a greater bearing on the health of your bones than does the amount of calcium in your diet. Meat and other high protein foods cause your body to lose calcium – especially protein from animal sources. The countries with the highest intakes of dairy products and animal protein also have the highest rates of hip fracture. If your protein intake is about 45 grams/day (typical intake for most vegetarians) your calcium intake should be at least 720 mg. Scientists think that the ideal ration of calcium to protein in your diet is about 16: 1 (ie 16 milligrams to 1 milligram). •   Sodium has a profound calcium-depleting effect on your body. Limit your daily sodium intake to 2000 milligrams or less. •   Phosphorus - Too much phosphorus (found in red meats and soft drinks) cause the body to lose calcium, as does the caffeine in cola drinks, other soft drinks, coffee and tea. But these have less of a depleting effect on your calcium balance than do protein and sodium. •   The more weight-bearing exercise you include in your daily routine the more calcium you’ll hang on to. People who walk regularly have denser bones that those who are couch potatoes. •   Phytates and oxalates, found in plant foods, inhibit the body’s ability to absorb the calcium they contain. Whole grains are high in phytates and spinach is high in oxalates, making the calcium they contain unavailable to the body. Cooking destroys the oxalates, making the calcium they contain easier to absorb. The overall message, though, is that plant foods contain plenty of calcium that can be well absorbed. It’s a great book, with chapters on iron, B12, protein, etc. For example, did you know that vegetarians need more iron in their diet than non-vegetarians? This is because the iron in plant foods is not as easily absorbed as that from meat. There are veggie foods that enhance iron absorption (eg vitamin C-rich fruits and veg) and those that inhibit it (eg tannic acid in tea, coffee, wholegrains). However, if you eat a reasonable mix of foods, both inhibitors and enhancers of iron absorption, they offset each other. The book has chapters on getting started, nutrition, 'surviving among the carnivores', easy meals, dining out/dinner invitations, preparing for a veg pregnancy, bringing up baby, diets for children and teens, aging healthfully, diets for athletes, and a 'helpful resources for vegetarians' chapter. I don't have any association with the book. I just think it's a 'must read' for beginning vegans and vegetarians. Richard
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Wild4Stars Joined: 12/27/09 Location: Florida Posts: 832	RE: calcium Posted Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 8:02 AM Richard ~ I went in search of your book and also found "Living Vegan for Dummies." I've ordered both. Thanks for sharing, looks like a great resource. Vikki ~ Wild4Stars@gmail.com
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Wild4Stars Joined: 12/27/09 Location: Florida Posts: 832	RE: calcium Posted Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 8:23 AM "Living Vegan for Dummies" shows a copyright date of 2010, so it must have just come out. You can see the table of contents at Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Living-Vegan-Dummies-Cooking/dp/0470522143/ref=reg_hu-wl_item-added#noop Vikki ~ Wild4Stars@gmail.com
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Richard Joined: 01/02/10 Location: Australia Posts: 15	RE: calcium Posted Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 7:21 PM Thanks Wild4Stars. Bookstores are a little behind out here in the antipodes, but I'll go looking for "Being Vegan for Dummies" next time I'm in town.
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kezza Joined: 01/07/10 Posts: 8	RE: calcium Posted Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 8:40 PM we are the only species that continues to drink milk after we have been weaned... milk gets a bad rap and deservedly so .. it is responsible for the plague of osteoporosis that has hit western cultures .. it robs calcium out of the bones so that it can realkaize our system .. it is very acidic. stick to leafy green veges and you will get all you need..
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