Why Don’t I Need to Worry About Calcium?

Paleo Cinnamon Buns

When I was a teenager, my Uncle Bill taught me how to make real cinnamon buns. You know, the kind with yeast-based bread? It was a revelation and became one of my favorite treats to make. One batch would make a whole delicious pan, full of thousands of gluten-filled calories. And last about an hour.
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Grug’s Barbecued Stuffed Bananas—A Recipe Inspired by The Croods

Who is Grug? He is the overprotective yet loving dad (voiced by Nicolas Cage) in the new DreamWorks Animation film, The Croods. The Croods is about a family of cavemen forced to embrace change. This movie looks like a whole lot of fun and I can’t wait to take my girls to see it (you
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Puerto Rican Plantain Lasagna (Pastelon)

Plantain lasagna? Really? Yes! And what a delicious and comforting meal! Perfect for this time of year! This is another recipe modified from one that Gloria sent me (thank you Gloria!). I made this for my mother-in-law’s birthday while she was visiting and it was a hit! My mother-in-law was amazed—mostly at how you don’t
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Perfect Paleo Pancakes

These hotcake-style pancakes were a serendipitous accident. I was working on a crepe recipe (which I will be posting soon!) and my first attempt was not crepe-like at all, but a light fluffy and delicious, if maybe a little too thin, pancake. Once my crepe recipe was perfected, my next priority became to take a
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Why Don’t I Need to Worry About Calcium?

February 7, 2012 in FAQ

This is one of the biggest areas of concern when people (especially women, who are at greater risk for developing osteoporosis) switch to a paleo diet. If we aren’t eating any dairy products, how do we make sure we get enough calcium??? It is one of the many pervasive bits of misinformation that we battle against (akin to saturated fat causing heart disease): that we need to consume dairy products to protect our bones. This simply isn’t true. And it isn’t true for two reasons. First, if you are making good food choices, you don’t need as much calcium as the current Recommended Daily Amount. Second, there are many great sources of dietary calcium out there (many are even better than dairy).

The most important piece of information that you need to know related to your dietary calcium requirements is that the health and density of your bones is dependent on your acid/base balance. I explained acid/base balance in a previous post, but this is the relevant part to bone health: the way your kidneys process excessive intake of acid load foods (like salt, grains, dairy products, and omega-6 fats) is by buffering the acid with calcium salts from your bones. Yes, if you eat a lot of acid producing foods without balancing it appropriately with alkaline foods (like fruits and vegetables), you pee out calcium from your bones! So, if you eat a Standard American Diet, rich in acid producing foods, your need for dietary calcium is much higher. If you avoid grains, legumes, dairy products and excessive salt while eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, your need for dietary calcium is much lower.

It’s also important to note that dairy products are not the only good source of calcium out there. In fact, there is scientific evidence that you actually absorb more calcium from cruciferous vegetables (like kale) than you do from dairy! Cruciferous vegetables (like kale, cabbage, broccoli, collard greens, turnip greens, etc.) are probably your best source of dietary calcium. Other great sources of dietary calcium include: green leafy vegetables, nuts (almonds especially), seeds (especially sesame seeds), figs, oranges, dried apricots, okra, bok choy, seafood (especially when you eat the bones like canned salmon or sardines), and to a lesser extent, all fruits and vegetables. Organ meat and bone broth are also excellent sources of not only calcium, but magnesium and phosphorous, which are also critical for bone health.

Basically, if you are following a paleo diet, keeping your salt intake on the moderate side, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables (especially cruciferous vegetables), and getting some exercise, you are doing a great job of looking after your bones.