What are the best sources of calcium? Most people know they are in dairy products, fruits and vegetables and also may be taken as a dietary supplement. But could one of these sources of calcium not perform as advertised?

Sources of calcium are abundant in nature, especially from dairy products and plants that we eat. The main foods with calcium we eat routinely are dairy products and then there are fruits and vegetables, in other words, plant material. The interesting thing about plants is the way they process the calcium they pull from the soil they are grown in.

Plants take up this calcium, use it to grow and via photosynthesis (the use of the sun to grow), the calcium is converted to a different form than found in the soil…a more absorbable form.

Foods with Calcium

All dairy products contain calcium, but in a form that is not as absorbable as we have been led to believe, certainly not as absorbable as the calcium found in plant material.

Foods with calcium are dairy products, fish such as salmon and sardines, beans and soybeans and especially these plants sources:

1. Spinach
2. Turnip greens
3. Mustard greens
4. Collard Greens
5. Blackstrap molasses
6. Swiss chard
7. Kale
8. Mozzarella cheese
9. Milk (goat’s milk and cow’s milk)
10. Romaine lettuce
11. Broccoli
12. Sesame seeds
13. Fennel
14. Cabbage
15. Summer squash
16. Green beans
17. Garlic
18. Tofu
19. Brussel sprouts
20. Oranges
21. Asparagus

Calcium Supplements

Another source of calcium is through calcium supplementation in our multi-vitamins or as a separate calcium supplement. Easily the best supplement source of calcium is a type known as Microcrystalline Hydroxyapatite (MCHC).♦ The reason for its effectiveness is that it is crushed bone, not simply an isolated form of calcium only.

MCHC contains not only calcium, but also the other minerals that make up the bone matrix. The necessity of the other minerals is that they are stronger than calcium (think chalk on the chalkboard) and contribute to the strength of the bone.♦ Taking a calcium supplement alone or with magnesium only is not as effective as MCHC.