Powerful Bones. Powerful Girls.: Staying Strong: Calcium - Where To Get It (Printable Version) | DNPA

Staying Strong: Where to get calcium

What Makes A Powerful Girl?
For strong bones, girls need plenty of calcium and lots of bone-strengthening activity every day. Here are some great tasting ways to get the calcium you need.

Calcium content varies depending on ingredients for many foods. That means a food may have a little more or a little less calcium than what is listed on this chart. This is because different brands sometimes have slightly different ingredients. Check food labels to see how much calcium is in different foods.

Choose fat-free or low-fat versions of these foods most often. Aim for 1300 milligrams or 130% of the daily value (DV) everyday.* Add it up!

Food	Portion	Calcium
Food	Portion	Milligrams	%DV*
Plain, fat-free yogurt	1 cup	450	45
Grilled cheese sandwich**	1 sandwich	371	40
American cheese	2 ounces	348	35
Ricotta cheese, part skim	1/2 cup	337	35
Fruit yogurt	1 cup	315	30
Cheddar cheese	1 1/2 ounces	305	30
Milk (fat free or low fat)	1 cup	300	30
Orange juice with added calcium	1 cup	300	30
Soy beverage with added calcium	1 cup	250–300	25–30
Mozzarella cheese, part skim, low moisture	1 ounce	207	20
Tofu (with calcium sulfate on ingredient list)	1/2 cup	204	20
Waffle, homemade with milk, 7-inch	1	191	20
Macaroni and cheese	1/2 cup	180	20
Collards, boiled, frozen	1/2 cup	179	20
English muffin, whole wheat	1	175	20
Rice beverage, with added calcium	1 cup	150–300	15–30
Pudding, made with milk — chocolate, vanilla, lemon, banana	1/2 cup	147–160	15
Cheese pizza	1 slice	111–147	11–15
Collards, boiled	1/2 cup	118	10
Frozen yogurt (fat free or low fat)	1/2 cup	105	10
Broccoli, cooked or fresh	1 cup	90	10
Kale, boiled	1/2 cup	90	10
Seeds, sesame seeds, whole, dried	1 tablespoon	88	10
Ice cream	1/2 cup	84	8
Bok choy, cooked or fresh	1/2 cup	80	8
Cottage cheese, 2% fat	1/2 cup	78	8
Almonds, dry roasted	1 ounce	71	8
White bread	2 slices	70	8
Cottage cheese, 1% fat	1/2 cup	69	6
French toast, made with milk	1 slice	65	6
Oatmeal, instant with added calcium	1 packet	100	11
Cereal with added calcium	1 ounce	300	30
Milk, Lactose Reduced	1 cup	300	30

* % DV = % of Daily Value used on food labels. The Daily Value for calcium is 1,000 milligrams (mg). 5% DV or less of a nutrient is low; 20% DV or more is high. Label values are rounded. Visit the KidsHealth and FDA Web sites to read more about food labels.

** Using 2 slices of white bread, 1 1/2 ounces cheese, nonstick cooking spray.

Sources: American Dietetic Association's Complete Food and Nutrition Guide, by Roberta Larson Duyff, Chronimed Publishing, 1996; Bowes and Church's Food Values of Portions Commonly Used, revised by Jean A.T. Pennington, Lippincott-Raven Publishers, 1998; USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (Release 14, 2001); Imagine Foods Rice Dream and Pacific Foods.

Sources: United States Department of Health and Human Services, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005, Appendix B - Food Sources of Selected Nutrients: Appendix B-4: Non-Dairy Food Sources of Calcium.

Sources: Bone Health and Osteoporosis, A Report of the Surgeon General, 2004, Chapter 7: Lifestyle Approaches to Promote Bone Health, Table 7-2: Selected Food Sources of Calcium, pg 161.

Note: % Daily Value numbers are often rounded. That means the %DV numbers may not be the exact value. Rounded numbers are easier to work with. Numbers that end in 1 through 4 are generally rounded to the next lower number that ends in 0. For example 74 rounded to the nearest ten would be 70. Numbers that end in a digit of 5 or more are generally rounded up to the next even ten. For instance the number 88 rounded to the nearest ten would be 90.

*Links to non-Federal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. Links do not constitute an endorsement of any organization by the Office on Women's Health or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The Office on Women's Health is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at this link.

BACK TO PREVIOUS PAGE