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Calcium is one of the many minerals that you need to be healthy. Calcium is very important to ensure strong, healthy bones and teeth. It also helps muscles and nerves to work properly. In addition, calcium may help you to manage your weight and blood pressure, and play a role in preventing colon cancer. Vitamin D helps you to absorb and use calcium and has other health benefits.
Recommended Calcium Intake1
| Age (Male and Female) |
| 0-6 months | 210 mg/day |
| 7-12 months | 270 mg/day |
| 1-3 years | 500 mg/day |
| 4-8 years | 800 mg/day |
| 9-18 years | 1300 mg/day |
| 19-50 years | 1000 mg/day |
| Over 50 years | 1200 mg/day |
Recommended Vitamin D Intake1
| Age (Male and Female) |
| 0-1 year | 400 IU/day |
| 1-50 years | 200 IU/day |
| 51-70 years | 400 IU/day |
| Over 70 years | 600 IU/day |
| 1 People with osteoporosis may need more calcium and vitamin D. Check with your doctor. |
Breastfeeding is the best way to meet your baby's calcium needs. Infant formula provides calcium for babies who cannot be breastfed.
Dairy foods are very high in calcium, especially milk, yogurt and cheese. Other good sources include calcium-enriched orange juice, rice beverages, and soy beverages. For more information, see Food Sources of Calcium below.
There are only a few food sources of vitamin D. Good sources of vitamin D are fortified foods and beverages like milk, soy drinks, and margarine. Check the labels on these foods. Fish, liver, and egg yolk are the only foods that naturally contain vitamin D.
If you do not eat vitamin D rich foods often, you may want to consider taking a vitamin D supplement. Most multiple vitamin supplements contain vitamin D. Breastfed babies under 1 year of age need 400 IU of vitamin D from a supplement each day. People over 50 need extra vitamin D and should take 400 IU from a supplement each day.
Food Sources of Vitamin D
| Food | Serving | Vitamin D (IU) |
| Milk | 1 cup | 100 |
| Fortified rice or soy beverage | 1 cup | 80 |
| Fortified orange juice | 1/2 cup | 45 |
| Fortified margarine | 2 tsp | 51 |
| Egg yolk | 1 | 25 |
| Herring or trout, cooked | 75 g | 156 |
| Mackerel, cooked | 75 g | 80 |
| Salmon, Atlantic, cooked | 75 g | 225 |
| Salmon, canned or cooked* | 75 g | 608 |
| Sardines, Atlantic, canned | 75 g | 70 |
| Sardines, Pacific, canned | 75 g | 360 |
| Tuna, canned, light or white | 75 g | 41 |
| Tuna, canned, yellowfin (albacore, ahi) | 75 g | 105 |
| Tuna, skipjack, cooked | 75 g | 381 |
| Tuna, bluefin, cooked | 75 g | 690 |
| * includes Chinook, Coho, Humpback (pink), Sockeye |
Every day, choose a variety of foods from the Food Sources of Calcium list below. Plan your food choices carefully. If you find it difficult to get the recommended amounts of calcium and vitamin D from foods, a combination of food sources and supplements is recommended.
| Dairy Foods | Serving | calcium (mg) |
| Milk, with added calcium | 1 cup |
430 |
| Milk, whole, 2%, 1% skim | 1 cup |
300 |
| Milk, evaporated | 1/2 cup |
367 |
| Cheese, hard | 50 gm |
360 (average)* |
| Processed cheese spread | 4 Tbsp |
348 |
| Cheese, processed slices | 50 gm |
276 |
| Cottage cheese, 1 or 2% | 2 cups |
310 |
| Cottage cheese, <0.1% | 2 cups |
156 |
| Yogurt, plain | 3/4 cup |
290 (average)* |
| Yogurt, fruit bottom | 3/4 cup |
233 (average)* |
| Frozen yogurt, soft serve | 1 cup |
218 |
| Ice cream | 1 cup |
194 |
| *calcium content varies, check label | ||
| Beans and Bean Products | Serving | calcium (mg) |
| Tofu, medium firm or firm, made with calcium sulphate | 150 gm |
347 |
| Tofu, firm, made with calcium sulphate and magnesium chloride | 150 gm |
234 |
| White beans | 3/4 cup |
119 |
| Navy beans | 3/4 cup |
93 |
| Black turtle beans | 3/4 cup |
75 |
| Pinto beans, chickpeas | 3/4 cup |
58 |
| Nuts and Seeds | Portion | calcium (mg) |
| Tahini (sesame seed butter) | 2 Tbsp |
130 |
| Almonds, dry roast | 1/4 cup |
93 |
| Almond butter | 2 Tbsp |
88 |
| Sesame seed kernels, dried | 1/4 cup |
50 |
| Meats, Fish, and Poultry | Serving | calcium (mg) |
| Sardines, Atlantic, canned with bones | 75 gm |
286 |
| Sardines, Pacific, canned with bones | 75 gm |
180 |
| Salmon, canned with bones | 75 gm |
208 |
| Grains | Serving | calcium (mg) |
| Bannock | 1 med |
84 |
| Oats, instant, regular, no sugar added | 1 pouch |
165 |
| Non Dairy Drinks | Serving | calcium (mg) |
| Fortified rice or soy beverage | 1 cup |
319** |
| Orange juice fortified with calcium and vitamin D | 1/2 cup |
165 |
| Regular soy beverage | 1 cup |
110 |
| **added calcium sometimes settles at the bottom of the container; shake well before drinking |
| Vegetables (all measures for cooked vegetables) | Serving | calcium (mg) |
| Turnip greens | 1/2 cup |
104 |
| Chinese cabbage/bok choy | 1/2 cup |
84 |
| Okra, frozen | 1/2 cup |
65 |
| Mustard greens | 1/2 cup |
55 |
| Kale | 1/2 cup |
49 |
| Chinese broccoli (gai lan) | 1/2 cup |
46 |
| Rutabaga | 1/2 cup |
43 |
| Broccoli | 1/2 cup |
33 |
| Fruit | Serving |
calcium (mg) |
| Orange | 1 med |
52 |
| Other | Serving | calcium (mg) |
| Brown sugar | 1 cup |
198 |
| Blackstrap molasses | 1 Tbsp |
179 |
| Regular molasses | 1 Tbsp |
44 |
| Asian Foods | Serving | calcium (mg) |
| Dried fish, smelt | 35 gm |
560 |
| Soy bean curd slab, semisoft | 100 gm |
308 |
| Daylily flower | 100 gm |
303 |
| Sea cucumber, fresh | 100 gm |
285 |
| Soy bean milk film, stick shape | 100 gm |
77 |
| Seaweed, Wakame, raw | 1/2 cup |
63 |
| Seaweed, dry (agar) | 1/2 cup |
50 |
| Fat-choy, dried | 1/4 cup |
50 |
| Soy bean milk film, dried | 100 gm |
48 |
| Boiled bone soup | 1/2 cup |
negligible |
For more information, see the following BC HealthFiles:
#68k Vitamin and Mineral Supplements for Adults
For more nutrition information, call Dial-A-Dietitian at 604-732-9191 or 1-800-667-3438 to speak with a registered dietitian.
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