Osteoporosis Natural Prevention and Treatment for the Sandwich Generation: Good Sources of Calcium

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Osteoporosis is a definite cause for concern for the hate-to-admit-we-are-aging members of the Baby Boomers Generation. Particularly for those of us who are women. That’s why I’m always on the lookout for good options for preventing it! And guess what! There’s a great treat for all of us chocoholics above AND below! Read on… 🙂

The Office of Dietary Supplements has a good chart for all of our Sandwich Generation family – from our grandchildren on up to our senior parents, showing how much calcium we should be getting depending on our age, sex, and special needs.

Table 1: Adequate Intakes (AIs) for Calcium [1]

mg = milligrams

If you look closely, you’ll find those of us who are in the Baby Boomer Generation or older need as much calcium as our tween and teen grandkids! 

I’m not a big milk drinker and a couple of my senior relatives are allergic to milk. Being a firm believer in fairly natural  when possible, including natural osteoporosis prevention and treatment, I have done some research on various options for getting more of the vital calcium and vitamin D into our diet, other than milk, for the purpose of fighting osteoporosis. Here are some of the good sources of calcium foods I discovered:

• All dairy, of course, including Cheese, Yogurt and Ice Cream
• There are healthy amounts of calcium from various green leafy vegetables such as broccoli, collards, kale, and bok choy (which may also be called Chinese cabbage) BUT, according to the American Dietetic Association (ADA), “spinach and swiss chard reduce calcium absorption, making these foods poor sources of calcium.”
• Red cabbage is another good source of calcium which I love to add to my bean burritos, that I make with flour tortillas, which by the way, also may have calcium in it. 🙂

• Soybeans
• Beans
• Almonds
• Oranges even have some

• WHITE CHOCOLATE! Lindt Lindor White Chocolate Truffles– here we come! 🙂

Calcium is added to several food products, such as breads, cereals, and orange juice, to make them a significant source of calcium for persons who do not eat a lot of dairy products. You will have to check the individual labels to be sure the one you are buying does, indeed, have calcium. These can include:

• The cereals with the most calcium (1000 mg) which include General Mills Total – Corn Flakes and Whole Grain – along with their Raisin Bran, which is a family favorite with us.
• Corn tortillas
• Whole wheat English Muffin
• Orange Juice

Non-food but still good sources of calcium include:

• Metamucil Capsules Plus Calcium – now, before you laugh or say, “no way – that was for my grandparents,” you should know, they now have wonderful capsules  with great benefits to you that make it really easy to help you get the fiber our metamorphosing metabolisms seem to crave AND they have added the option of buying capsules with calcium. I, personally, love these and so does my senior mom! We can even order them from Amazon for the same price as locally and get fast and free shipping with my Amazon Prime Membership Discount. That discount comes in so handy when care giving from a long distance!
• Tums was another option my doctor suggested.

The USDA has a wonderful list of foods in order of their calcium content – from highest to lowest, just waiting for us to use. 🙂

One final piece of great news about all this healthy calcium. When I was researching information for this article, I came across an interesting article at Cooking Light. They reported that “Preliminary research suggests that calcium may play a role in ways to prevent breast cancer, although researchers aren’t sure why. A 2005 study from the American Cancer Society reported that postmenopausal women who consumed more than 1,250 milligrams (mg) of calcium per day were 20 percent less likely to develop breast cancer than women who consumed less than 500mg daily. Additionally, a 2005 study from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, found that women with a diet high in both calcium and vitamin D (a nutrient crucial for calcium absorption) were less likely to experience premenstrual syndrome.”

Don’t you love it when your vitamins and minerals are busy multi-tasking to help keep you healthier? As members of the Sandwich Generation, busy with multi-tasking the issues of caring for elderly parents and staying busy with activities for grandparents and their grandchildren, that is truly an encouragement!