Calcium

Both women and men need enough calcium to build peak (maximum) bone mass during their early years of life. Low calcium intake appears to be one important factor in the development of osteoporosis. Women have a greater risk than men of developing osteoporosis. A condition in which progressive loss of bone mass occurs with aging, osteoporosis causes the bones to be more susceptible to fracture. If a woman has a high level of bone mass when her skeleton matures, this may modify her risk of developing osteoporosis. Therefore, particularly during adolescence and early adulthood, women should increase their food sources of calcium. "The most important time to get a sufficient amount of calcium is while bone growth and consolidation are occurring, a period that continues until approximately age 30 to 35," says Marilyn Stephenson, a registered dietitian with FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. "The idea is, if you can build a maximum peak of calcium deposits early on, this may delay fractures that occur later in life." The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for calcium for woman 19 to 24 is 1,200 mg per day. It drops to 800 milligrams for women 25 and older. "That is still a significant amount." says Stephenson. "The need for good dietary sources of calcium continues throughout life," she says. How do you get enough calcium without too many calories and fat? After all, the foods that top the calcium charts--milk, cheese, ice cream--are also high in calorie and fat. There are lower fat choices such as skim milk instead of homogenized (whole) milk, and lower fat cheeses, yoghurts, and ice milk. In addition to dairy foods, other good sources of calcium include fish with bones (eg. salmon, sardines), tofu (soybean curd), certain vegetables, dried peas and beans, seeds, and nuts.