You have probably heard of calcium before, but do you know why it is important? And what role it plays within women's health?
What does calcium do?
Calcium helps with the functioning and development of our bones, muscles, heart, nervous system, and chemical reactions.
Calcium is a bone-building nutrient, helping strengthen and build the density of our bones and teeth. Peak bone mass for women occurs by around age 30. A lack of calcium can cause osteoporosis, where our bones become brittle and fragile.
Women are most at risk of developing this later in life due to menopause. The hormone oestrogen helps maintain the structure of bones. During menopause, oestrogen levels decrease, affecting bone density. In the first 5 years after menopause, it is estimated that women will lose around 10% of their bone mass.
Women can help maintain bone density and strength by keeping up their calcium intake and performing weight-bearing exercises.
So how much do I need?
Adolescent girls need 1,300mg of calcium every day, with this decreasing to 1,000mg for women aged 19-50. Importantly, requirements increase again for women aged 51+ who need 1,300mg of calcium every day .
The best source of calcium is dairy foods, such as cow’s milk, cheese, and yoghurt.
Smaller amounts of calcium are found in green leafy vegetables (like broccoli or spinach), fish with bones, nuts and seeds, tofu, and calcium-fortified plant-based milk or breakfast cereals.
How can I meet my calcium requirements?
A standard serve of 300mg of calcium, can be met with:
- 1 cup (250ml) dairy
- 1 cup (250ml) fortified milk with at least 100mg of added calcium per 100ml
- ½ cup of evaporated milk
- ¾ cup (200g) yoghurt
- ½ cup of ricotta cheese
- 30g of almonds
- 2 slices of cheese.
To achieve their higher calcium needs, women 50 and over are recommended to have 4 serves of dairy a day.
Can anything affect my absorption of calcium?
There are different foods, nutrients and lifestyle habits that may influence your body's ability to absorb calcium.
Vitamin D has an important role in helping our body absorb calcium. You can get most of your vitamin D by being out in the sun, with small amounts found in some foods like egg yolks, oily fish and mushrooms (putting your mushrooms out in the sunshine for 30 minutes helps increase their vitamin D content!).
Some things that can decrease calcium absorption include:
- Increasing age
- High sodium and potassium diets. These may cause an increase in calcium excretion.
- Alcohol may cause an increase in calcium to be excretion.
- Caffeine may cause an increase in calcium to be excretion, however, a cup of coffee a day is not a problem!
Try this warm quinoa and chia breakfast pudding from Woolworths for a calcium-rich recipe.
For more individualised information and advice, be sure to speak with your GP and/or an Accredited Practicing Dietitian.
Nutrition Australia is Australia’s leading nutrition non-profit organisation, providing information, education and business-to-business (B2B) consultation and advisory services to help Australians achieve optimal health through good nutrition.
Reviewed by the healthylife Advisory Board August 2022
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