Calcium Rich Foods for Children

Calcium is critical across the life cycle, from your time in utero, as an infant and a toddler, through life changes such as pregnancy and then, finally, in the older years. Young people need calcium to help build their growing bones. Older people need calcium to avoid bone loss. To meet the needs of a young, growing body, dairy foods tend to be the best bet.

Daily Calcium Intake
Children need adequate calcium to grow strong bones. As children grow and their diet grows with them, their recommended intake changes. The National Academy of Science's Food and Nutrition Board recommends the following intake as of 2010:

• Children 0 to 6 months: 200 mg/day.
  
• Children 6 months to one year: 260 mg/day.
  
• Children 1 to 3 years old: 700 mg/day.
  
• Children 4 to 8 years old: 1000 mg/day.
  
• Children 9 to 18 years old: 1,300 mg/day.

Calcium-Rich Dairy Foods
To meet that need for calcium, dairy foods do hold the highest calcium content.

• Yogurt, plain: 450 mg/cup.
  
• Milk, low fat or nonfat: 300 mg/cup.
  
  
• Milk, whole: 275 mg/cup.
  
• Cheese: 200 mg/ounce.

Food labels will contain the amount of calcium, including calcium added to the food in processing. Learn to read the labels to determine just how much calcium is in the food. However, keep in mind that the Daily Value (% DV) provided on the food packaging is the recommended level of an adult (1000 mg/day). The recommended level for a child will vary depending on the child' age. A glass of milk containing 300 milligrams of calcium would meet nearly half the calcium requirement of a two-year-old child even though it would meet less than one-third of the calcium need of an adult.

Calcium-Rich Nondairy Foods
A good diet will include foods from all food groups, including nondairy calcium-rich foods. Salmon and sardines top the seafood list for calcium content, as do a number of vegetables.

• Rhubarb
  
• Collard greens
  
• Spinach
  
• Turnip greens
  
• Okra
  
• Broccoli
  
• Peas
  
• Brussel sprouts
  
• Bok choy

Beans and legumes are good sources of calcium, particularly white beans and baked beans. For best results, however, soak your beans overnight before cooking them to reduce the calcium-inhibitor phytic acid. You child will absorb more calcium from the beans if they are soaked before cooking.

If you child can eat dairy foods, they are highly recommended to meet the needs of the child's growing bones. If not, you will have to work harder to meet the child's requirement but you can do so with a combination of healthy seafood, legumes, and vegetables. Healthy bones are many years in the making and so an on-going strategy of good nutrition using a variety of foods is your best long-term strategy.


Alexander V. Martin enjoys healthy eating, especially foods high in calcium recommended by his Bakersfield dentist. That same Bakersfield dentist can be found one video as well promoting healthy teeth.