Lactose Intolerant Friendly Calcium Rich Foods

When you are lactose intolerant, vegan, or maintaining a dairy free diet for other reasons, it is easy to develop a calcium deficiency. If you know what dairy free foods contain high amounts of calcium, however, you can avoid a calcium deficiency and maintain a well balanced diet.

Lactose Intolerant, Vegan, & Other Dairy Free Diets

Whatever the reason that you either can’t, or choose not to, eat dairy products is, it is important to ensure that your calcium intake does not suffer just because you’re avoiding dairy. There are plenty of other calcium rich foods that you can add into your diet so that you can still obtain this necessary nutrient without needing to turn to supplement pills or shakes. So without further ado here are our favorite dairy free, calcium rich foods, to keep you healthy and satiated without compromising your dietary needs.

Foods Naturally Containing Calcium

Almond Butter

A single serving of almond butter is one ounce and naturally contains 75.6 mg of calcium, which is roughly 8% of your recommended daily value. That’s just under the same amount of calcium that you would find in a four ounce serving of fat free cottage cheese.

Almonds

Twenty two almonds equate to about an ounce, which is a single serving size. Within that serving size exists 8% of your recommended daily value of calcium. The same as if you would replace the almonds with an ounce of almond butter.

Broccoli

A cup of raw chopped broccoli accounts for a single serving, and contains 42.8 mg of calcium, which equates to about 4% of your recommended daily value for this micronutrient. Since broccoli contains many other necessary nutrients found in green vegetables, it is a stable source of calcium for those who are lactose intolerant, as well as anyone who may consume lactose products.

Broccoli Rabe

Much like regular broccoli, a single serving of broccoli rabe is a full cup, chopped. Likewise it also contains 43.2 mg of calcium, or four percent of your recommended daily value. This variation of broccoli is slightly more bitter than regular broccoli, which makes it a bit of an acquired taste.

Canned Salmon

Canned salmon has a bit more calcium than fresh salmon. A serving is about 100 grams, and in those 100 grams 69 mg of calcium reside. That measures out to about 7% of your recommended daily value.

Chia Seeds

One ounce of cheddar cheese has roughly the same amount of calcium as an ounce of chia seeds at about 202 mg or 20% of your recommended daily value. These lactose intolerant friendly seeds are a healthy addition to just about any meal. When combined with soymilk or almond milk they even make a delicious pudding that significantly increases your recommended daily value of calcium.

Collard Greens

A cup of chopped collard greens contains an impressive 266 mg of calcium, otherwise measured as 27% of your recommended daily value of calcium. This is just shy of the 30% you would receive from drinking an eight ounce glass of fat free milk.

(Image: Edamame)

While you could choose to add an ounce cream cheese to your morning bagel for 10% of your recommended daily value of calcium, you could also skip the carbohydrate overload and choose a cup of cooked edamame instead, which in the end hold a far better nutritional value than cream cheese and bagels.

Kale

Whether you eat a cup of kale raw in a salad, baked as a chip, or cooked in a more elaborate dish, you’ll obtain 90.5 mg of calcium. About 9% of your recommended daily value, which would otherwise be found in four ounces (or ¼ of a cup) of cottage cheese. For those who are, and are not, lactose intolerant this is a great snacking or meal option to increase calcium intake.

Okra

A cup of okra contains 81 mg of calcium, which equates to about 8% of your recommended daily value. Since it absorbs the flavors of the foods around it, it can easily be added to numerous dishes to kick up the nutritional value, without compromising the flavor.

Oranges

The amount of calcium found in a single large orange is 73.6 mg, or 7% of your recommended daily value. When paired together with the fact that it also contains 163% of your recommended daily value of vitamin C, this lactose intolerant, vegan friendly food choice packs a nutritional punch that can’t be ignored.

Sardines

A cup of sardines, canned in oil, and drained contains a whopping 569 mg of calcium, which is roughly 57% of your recommended daily value. That’s 12% more than an 8 ounce container of plain fat free yogurt!

Seaweed

Get four percent of your recommended daily value of calcium when you eat a single ounce of seaweed. This contains 42 mg of calcium, which is equivalent to four ounces of butter, without all of the fat content.

Sesame Seeds

A single tablespoon of sesame seeds contains 87.8 mg of calcium, which can also be calculated to 9% of your recommended daily value of calcium. This equates to four ounces of fat free cottage cheese, for those who are not lactose intolerant or otherwise consume a dairy free diet. It is also a lower calorie option, for those who do eat dairy but are counting their caloric intake.

Spinach

Two cups of raw spinach equate to a single serving of leafy greens and contain 59.4 mg of calcium, which is about 6% of your recommended daily value. The vitamin A, C, and K content of spinach creates a powerfully nutritional meal option.

Tofu

A half of a cup of regular tofu constitutes a single serving and is responsible for 43% of your recommended daily value, with 434 mg of calcium included in each serving. There are few options that offer more calcium in a single serving whether they contain dairy or are lactose intolerant friendly.

Turnip Greens

Ten percent of your recommended daily value of calcium can be found in fat free cream cheese, or the much healthier option of a single cup of turnip greens.

White Beans

White beans contain one of the highest amounts of calcium of any lactose intolerant friendly, dairy free foods, at 485mg in a single cup. A cup of white beans contains 48% of your recommended daily value, a full 3% more than an 8 ounce serving of fat free yogurt.

Foods Fortified With Calcium

Cheerios

When eaten dry, original Cheerios contain 114 mg of calcium, which is about 11% of your recommended daily value. For those who are lactose intolerant adding almond milk to their cheerios can boost the calcium value by 200 mg, adding an additional 20% to your recommended daily value.

Instant Oatmeal

Plain and fortified instant oatmeal that is prepared with water contains 187 mg of calcium, which is 19% of your recommended daily value. When prepared with almond milk you can add an additional 200 mg (or 20%) calcium to your diet.

Orange Juice

Non-fortified orange juice contains just 3% of your recommended daily value for calcium, but orange juice that has been fortified with calcium and vitamin D contains a full 50% of your recommended daily value of calcium. That means that there is 500 mg in fortified versions of this juice, compared to 27.3 mg of calcium in raw orange juice.

Soymilk

The milk alternatives for those who are lactose intolerant are plentiful, but one of the most common alternatives is soymilk. Fortified, unsweetened soymilk contains 299 mg of calcium, which is about 30% of your recommended daily value, the same as lactose containing cow milk.

Sources:

Nutrition Facts: Almond milk, Blue Diamond Unsweetened. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/custom/278488/2

Nutrition Facts: Beans, white, mature seeds, raw. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/4318/2

Nutrition Facts: Broccoli, raw. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2356/2

Nutrition Facts: Cereals, oats, instant, fortified, plain, prepared with water (boiling water added or microwaved) [instant oatmeal]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/breakfast-cereals/1600/2

Nutrition Facts: Cereals, ready-to-eat, GENERAL MILLS, CHEERIOS. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/breakfast-cereals/1522/2

Nutrition Facts: Cereals, ready-to-eat, GENERAL MILLS, CHEERIOS. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/breakfast-cereals/1522/2

Nutrition Facts: Cheese, cheddar. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/8/2

Nutrition Facts: Cheese, cream, fat free. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/159/2

Nutrition Facts: Collards, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2411/2

Nutrition Facts: Edamame, frozen, prepared. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/9873/2

Nutrition Facts: Fish, sardine, Atlantic, canned in oil, drained solids with bone. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/finfish-and-shellfish-products/4114/2

Nutrition Facts: Kale, raw. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2461/2

Nutrition Facts: Milk, nonfat, fluid, without added vitamin A (fat free or skim). (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/139/2

Nutrition Facts: Nuts, almond butter, plain, without salt added. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3153/2

Nutrition Facts: Nuts, almonds, dry roasted, without salt added [Includes USDA commodity food A255, A263]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3087/2

Nutrition Facts: Okra, raw. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2497/2

Nutrition Facts: Orange juice, chilled, includes from concentrate, fortified with calcium and vitamin D. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/9792/2

Nutrition Facts: Orange juice, raw. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1971/2

Nutrition Facts: SILK Unsweetened, soymilk. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/10542/2

Nutrition Facts: Seaweed, wakame, raw. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2766/2

Nutrition Facts: Seeds, chia seeds, dried. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3061/2

Nutrition Facts: Seeds, sesame seeds, whole, dried. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3070/2

Nutrition Facts: Spinach, raw. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2626/2

Nutrition Facts: Tofu, raw, regular, prepared with calcium sulfate. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/4468/2

Nutrition Facts: Turnip greens, raw. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2703/2

 

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