When it comes to calcium, the first thing that comes to most people’s mind is milk.

Thanks to the heavy marketing of the dairy industry, the world has been brainwashed to believe that cow’s milk or dairy products are the only sources of calcium and the best for bone development and growth.

If you think about it, the biggest sources of calcium is bone, which is the reason why we’re so concern about calcium intake, right.

So it makes sense that we should be eating animal bones to get our calcium. After all, it is the exact source of calcium that our body needed.

I’m just appalled that after all these years, no one has ever questioned the justification of having dairy product as its own group on Four Food Groups, Food Guide Pyramid, Food Step Pyramid and the most recent MyPlate.

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Anyway, my point is milk and all dairy products are just over-rated.

Contrary to popular belief and what the dairy industry wants you to believe, you don’t need to drink milk or eat cheese and yogurt to get your calcium for your bone health.

Many cultures in the world does not consume dairy, and if they do, dairy is just a small part of their diet.

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And for some other people, their body just does not get along with milk.

Since we’re all so concern about our calcium intake, so how much calcium do we need?

Current calcium recommendation by age:

Infant 0-6 mos – 200mg/d; 6-12 mos – 260mg/d.

Children 1-3 yo – 700mg/d; 4-8yo – 1,000mg/d; 9-18yo 1,300mg/d.

Adult 19-50yo – 1,000mg/d; more if female older than 50 and male older than 70.

One cup of cow’s milk has about 296 mg.

Below is a list of non-dairy sources of calcium that comes close to the calcium content of cow’s milk:

Sesame Seeds A quarter cup of sesame seeds has 351 mg calcium.

Spinach A cup of boiled spinach has 245 mg.

Collard GreensA cup of boiled collard greens has 266 mg.

Canned Salmon 3oz has 181mg.

Blackstrap Molasses One tablespoon has about 137 mg.

Tahini Two tablespoons of raw tahini (sesame seed butter) have 126 mg.

*on a side note, blackstrap molasses and tahini mixed together make a very good dip from whole wheat crackers and pita bread.

Kelp One cup of raw kelp has 136 mg.

Broccoli Two cups of boiled broccoli have 124 mg.

Swiss Chard One cup of boiled chard has 102 mg.

Kale One cup of boiled kale has 94 mg.

Brazil Nuts Two ounces of Brazil nuts (12 nuts) have 90 mg.

Celery Two cups of raw celery have 81 mg.

Almonds One ounce of almonds (23 nuts) has 75 mg.

Papaya One medium papaya has 73 mg.

Flax Seeds Two tablespoons of flax seeds have 52 mg.

Oranges One medium orange has 52 mg.

Nutrition Tips: Mix and match any of the ingredients listed above and you’ll have an calcium- and antioxidant-rich salad.

The goal is to eat a healthy balanced diet with a variety of fruits and vegetables of the rainbow colors, various types of beans, nuts and seeds. And animal proteins are used only for flavors.

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