Calcium in foods

[scucci1979]

My lo is currently eating yogurt, cheese and cottage cheese. What other foods can I give that contain calcium?

[PaulsMom]

Aside from other dairy products, you can try broccoli, dried figs, bok choy, soy bean and tofu.   

[Khalam's Mama]

curly kale, okra, horseradish and watercress, red kidney beans, soya beans, petit pois, broccoli, cabbage, celery and parsnips.Some cereals have added calcium and also bread and salmon and sardines in a tin with the small soft bones.

[Mashi]

Here's a decent list...

http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/nutrition/calcium_requirements.html

If she's eating yogurt, cheese, and cottage cheese (and milk also?) she is probably getting a LOT of calcium in her diet each day so I wouldn't be too concerned.  Toddlers need about 500mg of calcium in a day -- so 8 ounces of milk, and a 1.5 oz cube of cheese is 600mg....more than she needs just with that!

[firsttimemummy]

For some reason the UK recommends only 350mg for under 4s.  DSs dietician said that as long as he is having calcuim-fortified cereal with a cup or 2 or rice milk then not to worry about the calcium intake (the Ready Brek he has contains most of his daily dose) - DS intolerent to cows milk.

[We Three]

Agree with Mashi here...be careful your lo doesn't get *too much* calcium, as it can cause constipation. I figured that one out because my dd has chronic constipation (since birth) and when I looked at her diet more closely, she was getting over 1000 mgs daily when she only needed 500.       If a lo has morning milk, lunch milk, evening milk and a yogurt....that is actually way over the daily recs.   Just an FYI!!

[Mashi]

Yes, I don't know why the UK is so low on calcium recommendations - TBH though in a LOT of different nutritional aspects the UK recommends lower amounts than most other country guidelines so I am not sure why!

Also too much calcium can inhibit iron absorption, so aside from the constipation issue, it's something else to look at. I actually REALLY limit DS's milk intake (he gets 3oz of cow's milk in the morning and can have a small cup (say 3-4 oz) of soy milk in the day and that's IT!  Mainly because he will take or leave milk, wouldn't care if I gave him water instead, but he insists on yogurt after dinner for his dessert and has a good 2 ounces of cheese each day...and cheese has more fat in it than milk and his diet lacks in fat so I prefer it that way!

[firsttimemummy]

Maybe that is why the UK is such an unhealthy country

[Sivo]

Apparently the sesame seed is super rich in calcium... I make a "milk" of cereal recipe, from the brazilian book: "mum, I want it" of Sonia Hirch. In this recipe there's some sesame among other stuff. The grains are cooked for a long time, and the resulting cream I mix with 2 fresh vegetables, 1 type of green leave, sometimes 1/4 onion and 1 tomato... LO loves it! I can post the full recipe if anyone is interested...