Looking for a Calcium Answer!

It's always best to get calcium from food, but perhaps once in a while you could try the calcium chews, I'm not sure the minimum age.

I teach a nutrition course for a couple different schools. Looking at the list in the textbook, some sources of calcium are:
whole wheat bread (1 oz slice), tortillas (10"). broccoli (1/2 cup cooked), carrots (1/2 CUP SHREDDED), potatoes (1 med, baked with skin), oranges (1 med, raw), strawberries (1/2 c fresh), watermelon (1 slice), tomato juice (3/4 cup), pinto beans (1/2 cup cooked), Peanut butter (2 tbs), sunflower seeds (1 oz dry), 1 hard cooked egg, sardines - better than milk (3 oz canned ), bok choy (1/2 cuo cooked), almonds (1 oz). All but the last 3 are less than 100 milligrams per serving, but making sure she eats a lot of these foods will help. Sardines is about 425 mg/serving and bok choy (Chinese cabbage) and almonds are ~ 80-90 mg/serving.

Does she definitely have an allergy to milk or is she lactose intolerant? They are different things and it is important to know the distinction. If she is allergic, it means her immune system is reacting and she should never have any milk product because it will illicite an immune response. However, if she is lactose intolerant, there are certain milk products she could probably tolerate in small doses, specifically, aged/hard cheese, yogurt because the way these products are processed greatly reduces the amount of lactose. There is also lactose-free milk.

Actually, the most absorbable forms of calcium are from dark green leafy veggies, almonds and non-pastuerized mild products. So, I would buy her almond milk and give her almonds. If you can get her to eat dark green veggies, that would be great. If not, you can put them in sauces like spaghetti sauce or cut them up small and toss them with pasta. Dark green leafies like kale, swiss chard, dark romaine lettuce would help.

Also, remove items from her diet that deplete Calcium like soda. You may need to research Calcium a bit. A book I use frequently is Prescription for Nutritional Healing, which you can purchase on Amazon or at a health food store. They usually have one out at health food stores for people to peruse while they are there, if you don't want to buy one. They run around $20, but they are a fabulous resource for all things nutritional and listings of diseases and conditions.

you can purchase a product called liquid calcium from Nature's Sunshine (I can get it for you if you are interested) but you put a teaspoonful in any drink or meal and mix it in. Also there are flavored ones that you can just give her the teaspoonful. Other than that try calcium rich foods. Broccoli is one. Make sure you watch her diet and that she gets a sufficent amount of these. Is she totally lactose intolerant? No yogurt or cheese products?

There are LOTS of ways to incorporate calcium into a diet without eating dairy. Cows milk isn't really all that good for humans anyway, so many people resort to other calcium options. Many green veggies, tofu, beans and rice milk can supply the calcium she needs, which is only about 800mg/day at her age. Here is an informative site listing many food options
www.bchealthguide.org/healthfiles/hfile68e.stm

Just look at labels and try to find things high in calcium, but not high in fat.

I would definately incorporate flossing into her usual brushing routine and keep uo on the daily vitamins! Best wishes...

You might want to try Isotonix® Calcium Plus - it comes in powder form and you mix with water. It tastes pretty good -sort of citrus-like. If your daughter likes it - it may be the answer. I use it because us older women need our calcuim, too! You can find it on http://www.marketamerica.com/debbieanderson. You can order it there or I can get some to you in person. I live near Dunedin. By the way, I am an Army Brat, so I know the life of the military you mention in your "about me" section. My Dad was in for 26 years!

D. Anderson ###-###-####

You have several options. Leafy greens are the way the cows get calcium, so you can incorporate more of those into your child's diet. Concerning milk alternatives, oat milk has the same amount of calcium as cow's milk and also added Vitamin D. Hemp milk has even more calcium than cow's milk with added vitamin D. They both taste good, and are available at health food stores. Lately, oat milk has been quite affordable. Hemp milk is more expensive, but is also loaded with additional vitamins and Omega-3.