For more ideas, check out this list of foods that are high in calcium. Getting calcium from foods is best. You can take a multivitamin with calcium or a pill that has only calcium.

Learn how to understand and use the Nutrition Facts label. To find foods high in calcium when you go food shopping, use this calcium shopping list. Vitamin D helps your body absorb take in calcium. You can also get vitamin D from:.

That means eating a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and proteins. Learn more about healthy eating. Reviewed by: Kara Beckman ORISE Nutrition Policy Fellow Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

Dennis Anderson-Villaluz, MBA, RD, LDN, FAND Lieutenant Commander, U. Public Health Service Nutrition Advisor, Division of Prevention Science Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

Dana DeSilva ORISE Health Policy Fellow Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Janet de Jesus, MS, RD Nutrition Advisor, Division of Prevention Science Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

Best calcium-rich foods for toddlers and kids. How do I make sure my toddler gets enough calcium? Here's everything parents need to know about calcium for kids, plus how to make sure your little one is getting enough. Calcium is a mineral that is integral to building healthy bones, muscles and teeth.

Continue Reading Below. Recommended Reading. Best and Worst Drinks for Toddlers. Best High-Fiber Foods for Toddlers and Kids. From the What to Expect editorial team and Heidi Murkoff, author of What to Expect When You're Expecting. What to Expect follows strict reporting guidelines and uses only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions and highly respected health organizations.

Learn how we keep our content accurate and up-to-date by reading our medical review and editorial policy. View Sources. What to Expect The First Year , 3rd edition, Heidi Murkoff.

What to Expect The Second Year , Heidi Murkoff. Mayo Clinic, Infant Development: Milestones from 10 to 12 Months , June American Academy of Pediatrics, Cow's Milk Alternatives: Parent FAQs , October American Academy of Pediatrics, Promoting Healthy Nutrition.

KidsHealth from Nemours, Calcium , February Average daily calcium intakes from both foods and supplements are 1, mg for men, 1, mg for women, and to 1, mg for children [ 18 ]. Poverty is also associated with a higher risk of inadequacy.

NHANES data from to show that the risk of inadequate calcium intakes less than to 1, mg is Calcium deficiency can reduce bone strength and lead to osteoporosis, which is characterized by fragile bones and an increased risk of falling [ 1 ].

Calcium deficiency can also cause rickets in children and other bone disorders in adults, although these disorders are more commonly caused by vitamin D deficiency.

In children with rickets, the growth cartilage does not mineralize normally, which can lead to irreversible changes in the skeletal structure [ 1 ]. Another effect of chronic calcium deficiency is osteomalacia, or defective bone mineralization and bone softening, which can occur in adults and children [ 1 ].

For rickets and osteomalacia, the requirements for calcium and vitamin D appear to be interrelated in that the lower the serum vitamin D level measured as hydroxyvitamin D [25 OH D] , the more calcium is needed to prevent these diseases [ 21 ]. Hypocalcemia serum calcium level less than 8. Hypocalcemia can be asymptomatic, especially when it is mild or chronic [ 23 ].

When signs and symptoms do occur, they can range widely because low serum calcium levels can affect most organs and symptoms [ 24 ]. The most common symptom is increased neuromuscular irritability, including perioral numbness, tingling in the hands and feet, and muscle spasms [ 23 ].

More severe signs and symptoms can include renal calcification or injury; brain calcification; neurologic symptoms e. Menopause leads to bone loss because decreases in estrogen production reduce calcium absorption and increase urinary calcium loss and calcium resorption from bone [ 1 ].

Over time, these changes lead to decreased bone mass and fragile bones [ 1 ]. The calcium RDA is 1, mg for women older than 50 years vs. People with lactose intolerance, those with an allergy to milk, and those who avoid eating dairy products including vegans have a higher risk of inadequate calcium intakes because dairy products are rich sources of calcium [ 1 , 27 ].

Options for increasing calcium intakes in individuals with lactose intolerance include consuming lactose-free or reduced-lactose dairy products, which contain the same amounts of calcium as regular dairy products [ 1 , 3 ].

Those who avoid dairy products because of allergies or for other reasons can obtain calcium from nondairy sources, such as some vegetables e. However, these individuals typically need to eat foods fortified with calcium or take supplements to obtain recommended amounts [ 28 ].

This section focuses on six health conditions and diseases in which calcium might play a role: bone health in older adults, cancer, cardiovascular disease CVD , preeclampsia, weight management, and metabolic syndrome. Bone is constantly being remodeled.

Declining levels of estrogen in women during menopause and for approximately 5 years afterward lead to rates of bone resorption that are higher than rates of bone formation, resulting in a rapid decrease in bone mass [ 7 ].

Over time, postmenopausal women can develop osteoporosis, in which bone strength is compromised because of lower BMD and bone quality [ 1 ]. Age-related bone loss can also occur in men and lead to osteoporosis, but fracture risk tends to increase in older men about 5 to 10 years later than in older women [ 1 ].

Osteoporosis increases the risk of fractures, especially of the hip, vertebrae, and forearms [ 1 , 7 ]. FDA has approved a health claim for the use of supplements containing calcium and vitamin D to reduce the risk of osteoporosis [ 29 ]. However, not all research supports this claim.

In spite of the importance of calcium in bone health, observational evidence is mixed on the link between calcium intakes and measures of bone strength in older adults. Support for such a link comes from an analysis of — NHANES cross-sectional data on 2, adults age 60 and older Results were similar in of the women who were followed for 6 years, even though mean daily intakes of calcium dropped by an average of 40 mg during this period.

Some but not all clinical trials have found that calcium supplementation can improve bone health in older adults. On average, women lost 1. Several recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses have found that supplementation with calcium alone or a combination of calcium and vitamin D increases BMD in older adults.

For example, a systematic review and meta-analysis included 15 RCTs in postmenopausal women but did not include the two studies described in the previous paragraph in 78, women, of which 37, were in the intervention group and 40, were in the control group [ 34 ].

Supplementation with both calcium and vitamin D or consumption of dairy products fortified with both nutrients increased total BMD as well as BMD at the lumbar spine, arms, and femoral neck. However, in subgroup analyses, calcium had no effect on femoral neck BMD.

Earlier systematic reviews and meta-analyses found a positive relationship between calcium and vitamin D supplementation and increased BMD in older males [ 35 ] and between higher calcium intakes from dietary sources or supplements and higher BMD in adults older than 50 [ 25 ].

However, whether these BMD increases were clinically significant is not clear. As with the evidence on the link between increased calcium intakes and reductions in BMD loss, the findings of research on the use of calcium supplementation to prevent fractures in older adults are mixed.

For the most part, the observational evidence does not show that increasing calcium intakes reduces the risk of fractures and falls in older adults. For example, a longitudinal cohort study of 1, women age 42 to 52 years at baseline who were followed for 10—12 years found that fracture risk was not significantly different in calcium supplement users some of whom also took vitamin D supplements and nonusers, even though supplement use was associated with less BMD loss throughout the study period [ 36 ].

Some clinical trial evidence shows that supplements containing a combination of calcium and vitamin D can reduce the risk of fractures in older adults. However, findings were negative in another systematic review and meta-analysis that included 14 RCTs of calcium supplementation and 13 trials comparing calcium and vitamin D supplements with hormone therapy, placebo, or no treatment in participants older than 50 years [ 38 ].

The results showed that calcium supplementation alone had no effect on risk of hip fracture, and supplementation with both calcium and vitamin D had no effect on risk of hip fracture, nonvertebral fracture, vertebral fracture, or total fracture. Similarly, a systematic review of 11 RCTs in 51, adults age 50 and older found that supplementation with vitamin D and calcium for 2 to 7 years had no impact on risk of total fractures or of hip fractures [ 39 ].

Preventive Services Task Force USPSTF concluded with moderate certainty that daily doses of less than 1, mg calcium and less than IU 10 mcg vitamin D do not prevent fractures in postmenopausal women and that the evidence on larger doses of this combination is inadequate to assess the benefits in this population [ 40 ].

The USPSTF also determined the evidence on the benefits of calcium supplementation alone or with vitamin D to be inadequate to assess its effect on preventing fractures in men and premenopausal women. Additional research is needed before conclusions can be drawn about the use of calcium supplements to improve bone health and prevent fractures in older adults.

Calcium might help reduce the risk of cancer, especially in the colon and rectum [ 1 ]. However, evidence on the relationship between calcium intakes from foods or supplements and different forms of cancer is inconsistent [ 4 ].

Most clinical trial evidence does not support a beneficial effect of calcium supplements on cancer incidence. A 4-year study of 1, mg calcium and 2, IU 50 mcg vitamin D or placebo daily for 4 years in 2, healthy women age 55 years and older showed that supplementation did not reduce the risk of all types of cancer [ 41 ].

The large WHI study described above also found no benefit of supplemental calcium and vitamin D on cancer incidence [ 42 ]. In addition, a meta-analysis of 10 RCTs that included 10, individuals who took supplements containing mg calcium or more without vitamin D for a mean of 3.

However, one large clinical trial did find that calcium supplements reduce cancer risk. In this 4-year trial, by the same investigators as the 4-year trial above, 1, women age 55 years or older in Nebraska took 1, to 1, mg calcium alone; 1, to 1, mg calcium plus 1, IU Some scientists have questioned these findings because of the lack of statistical power the studies were designed to detect differences in bone health measures, not cancer incidence , details from the investigators on the study sample, and randomization procedures [ 45 , 46 ].

Observational evidence does not support an association between higher calcium intakes and a lower risk of cancer mortality. An analysis of data on , participants in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort, who were followed for an average of A systematic review and meta-analysis of 22 observational studies in 2,, participants age 8 and older followed for 4.

Clinical trials have also not shown that supplemental calcium alone or combined with vitamin D has an impact on risk of mortality from all cancers.

Rates of cancer incidence and cancer mortality did not differ between those who did and those who did not receive calcium supplements. In the WHI trial, 36, postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to daily supplementation with a combination of 1, mg calcium and IU 10 mcg vitamin D3 or placebo [ 42 ].

After an average of 7 years, risk of cancer mortality did not differ between groups. The meta-analysis of 10 RCTs that included 10, individuals described above found no impact of calcium supplementation on cancer mortality rates [ 43 ]. A substantial body of evidence has addressed the role of calcium in preventing colorectal cancer or its precursor, adenomas.

Much but not all of the observational evidence supports a link between higher calcium intakes and lower risk of colorectal cancer.