Why You Need Calcium In Your Diet

Why You Need Calcium In Your Diet

Even if you have a healthy diet it can still be hard to get the right balance of nutrients and vitamins that you need from your food in your body. Depending on taste and preferences there are probably some foods that you avoid like the bubonic plague. That being said, our bodies need certain things to run properly. Our heart, bones, blood, and internal organs are important, and to keep everything functioning we need to feed our bodies properly. Only you can decide what you want to put in your body but it is important to find out what you need so you can eat accordingly.

If you want to evaluate your diet, take pictures or write down everything you eat for a week. That way you can see what you are actually putting in your body and what is lacking from your diet. I will admit that I don’t always eat as much food from the dairy or protein food groups as I should. After evaluating my food for a week, I realized that I almost never eat any dairy products at all. Out of the whole week I only ate dairy twice which included a slice of cheese on a sandwich and some butter on toast I ate for breakfast once. I was quite dumbfounded and realized that I was missing out on some vital nutrients.

The lack of dairy in my diet didn’t really matter to me except for the fact that it meant I was calcium deficient. Calcium is important because it is what gives us strong bones and healthy teeth. Our bones and teeth are made of calcium so if you aren’t getting an adequate amount you can risk getting tooth decay, and weaken bones that may result in osteoporosis. Our bones can become more fragile, making them more susceptible to fractures especially if we are older.

How to Get More Calcium in Your Diet

There are actually multiple ways you can get more calcium in your diet, without eating dairy products which is helpful for vegans and people who are lactose intolerant. Here is a list of food that contains calcium:

  • Veggies – kale or Broccoli
  • Protein – sardines or salmon
  • Dairy – milk, yogurt, cheese

As a disclaimer, even though dairy products contain calcium it is not always best to only get your calcium intake from dairy products like ice cream, cream cheese, or butter. Eating those types of dairy products aren’t beneficial for your health. You can also get some calcium from fruit juices, tofu, and cereal. Just make sure to read the nutritional facts on the package.

Woman that have eating disorders, post menopausal, or in their teen years are more likely to have calcium deficiencies. To combat this you can take calcium supplements or implement more calcium enriched foods in your diet. Calcium is important for us all because it helps build strong bones and teeth when we are younger. As we get older we still need calcium in our diets so that we can maintain our bone and teeth health. If you aren’t getting the right amount of calcium, your teeth are more likely to fall out and you can lose bone mass. By maintaining a healthy diet full of vitamins and nutrients which includes calcium you are preserving a healthier body and smile that you can use for the rest of your life.


Victoria Cairo is a blogger for Greenspoint Dental in Houston, Texas. She loves finding new ways to benefit her health and tries to eat as healthy as possible

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