Fruits are the poorest sources of calcium

Which are the fruits to overcome Calcium deficiency for Knees?
(October 5, 2010)

Calcium constitutes over seventy percent of our bone weight. Calcium makes our bones and teeth strong and healthy. It also helps to stimulate our nerves and nerve impulses. The presence of calcium in our blood helps the muscles contract, regulates heartbeat, and is the agent that helps our blood clot. In pregnant women, calcium is important to induce and help contractions during labor.


After delivery, calcium helps the mother produce milk for the newborn.
 
Dairy products like milk, yogurt, and cheese are rich sources of calcium. However, sources of calcium other than dairy include vegetables, fruits, herbs, and seafood. 

Non-dairy sources of Calcium

• Vegans take heart. Many dark leafy vegetables like broccoli, spinach, Swiss chards, bok choy, collards, mustard greens, Chinese cabbage, kale, and okra contain rich traces of calcium. Whether you eat them as salads or stir-fry, calcium from these vegetables digests quickly and gets absorbed into the blood stream.
• Soy nuts and products made from soy such as soymilk, soy juice, tofu and other soy based natural supplements are also good sources of calcium for individuals who may want to avoid milk and dairy products as a result of lactose intolerance or a vegan lifestyle.
• Dietary sources of calcium are also available in peanuts, almonds, sesame seeds, and so on. Almond butter and sesame-based products such as Tahini, which is an important ingredient in Mediterranean cooking, are also examples of sources of calcium in food.
• Various bean and peas are also good sources of calcium.
• Shellfish like shrimps, lobsters, crabs and oysters are also rich sources of calcium in food. Seafood like salmon, sardines, and tuna are not only good sources of calcium, but they also contain Vitamin D which helps aid the absorption of calcium into the body.
• Do oranges have calcium? Although they are citrus fruits, oranges and calcium fortified orange juice can be another rich source of calcium foods for individuals who need to avoid dairy. A standard prescribed serving of calcium in fortified orange juice is better absorbed than calcium in milk per serving. Therefore, you may easily substitute a glass of orange juice for milk as part of your daily breakfast. Apart from calcium in oranges, the fruit is also a rich source of vitamin C and its citrus content acts as a detoxifying agent.

Unlike vitamins, which are easily lost during the cooking process, dietary sources of calcium retain their nutrition during the cooking or storage process.

Calcium Deficiencies

• The leading cause of osteoporosis amongst women is the lack of calcium. As our body ages, we lose calcium through the eroding process of aging. Moreover, our body also loses its ability to form and retain calcium.  Brittle bones and weakened teeth are an early sign of calcium deficiency. A more severe condition occurs as bones become brittle and break or fracture easily.
• In children, calcium deficiency can manifest itself as rickets. Rickets can cause physical deformities such as knock knees, bow leg, curved spine, soft bones in the skull region, enlarged ankles and wrists, abnormal space in various joints, and so on.
• Tooth decay is another sign of calcium deficiency.
• Lack of appetite, poor nail structure, fatigue and insomnia can all be symptoms of lack of calcium in your body.

While lack of calcium in your diet can cause various deficiency syndromes, for some individuals the lack of absorption or excess excretion of calcium can lead to various problems. In such cases, your doctor may recommend the intake of natural or medicated calcium supplements.

In order to change or add to your diet for calcium deficiency, especially pertaining to your knees, the first thing you must determine is that you actually are suffering from calcium deficiency. To do this, you should actually undergo a medical examination to begin with. A proper medical check up will reveal if you have calcium deficiency. It is always good to know that problems with knees can also arise due to many other ailments, and that it need not necessarily be calcium deficiency.

There is a vast variety of foods you can consume to add to your calcium count. You should know that fruits are the poorest sources of calcium, and eating them alone will not make a significant difference to your calcium count. The richest source of calcium when it comes to fruits is limes and oranges. These contain the highest amount of absorbable calcium. But the calcium count of these fruits is substantially low when compared to other sources of calcium. For example, yogurt contains approximately 10 times more calcium by volume than oranges. This means that if you eat one serving of yogurt, it is equivalent to eating 10 oranges. Likewise, all milk products are extremely rich sources of calcium, and it is always better to have those than fruits. Green leafy vegetables are also extremely rich sources of calcium, especially when compared to fruits. Dates are a very rich source of calcium. But the amount of absorbable calcium in a couple of dates is equal to the amount of absorbable calcium in a cup of leafy greens such as mustard, collard, kale or broccoli. It is also good to remember that dates are high is fat as well, so do not forget that you are adding extra calories to your diet as well. If weight is a constraint, you would do well to steer clear of dates altogether. Among other fruits that contain a certain amount of calcium absorbable in the human body are apricots, peaches, blueberries, guavas and raisins. The negatives of these are that all of them are also extremely high in sugar content. It is essential you know this, because in case a person has diabetes, sugar intake, even from fruits, needs to be closely monitored. Furthermore, since the fruit sugars are so high there is also close monitoring required for a vast variety of other diseases as well? To sum it up, for calcium deficiency, you would be better off adding things other than fruit to your diet.