Calcium-Rich Foods: Best Sources for Stronger Bones and Overall Health

Introduction¹,²

Calcium helps build stronger bones, teeth, muscles and overall growth. So, it is important to include calcium for kids and you must be aware of calcium rich foods for kids.

This article discusses a variety of foods high in calcium, including calcium rich fruits, calcium rich vegetables, calcium rich Indian foods, what are calcium rich foods for babies and calcium rich foods for kids, best ways to include calcium and daily requirements of calcium for kids.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Why Is Calcium Essential for The Body
• List Of Calcium Rich Foods
• How Calcium Rich Indian Foods can be incorporated into daily meals
• Calcium Rich Foods for Different Age Groups
• How to upsurge Calcium Absorption
• Conclusion

Why Is Calcium Essential for The Body

• Bones and teeth contain almost 99% calcium present in our bodies, signifying importance of calcium in teeth and bone health
• Baby’s bones at birth contain 20-30g of calcium which reaches 1200g in an adult and the bone mineral mass is at the plateau around the age of 20 years

Importance of calcium spans over lifetime from babies to kids and adults.

• Calcium plays a vital role in maintaining strength supporting body’s weight and facilitating body movement by anchoring muscles.
• Poor calcium intake during childhood may lead to poor bone health and high risk of fractures

Poor calcium and vitamin D (needed for calcium absorption) intake, causes the body to draw the calcium from the bones, to maintain the calcium levels in the blood, making the bones weak. This can cause rickets – weak bones and bow-shaped legs affecting growth. Hence, it is important to include foods high in calcium for kids and calcium rich foods for babies.

List Of Calcium Rich Foods ³

1. Dairy-Based Calcium Sources

Milk, and its products like curd, yogurt, paneer, and cheese are dairy foods high in calcium. These dairy foods high in calcium contribute largely to fulfilling the daily requirements of calcium for children and adults. This is due to their high calcium content and because calcium from dairy foods is readily absorbed. One glass of milk provides about 1/3^rd of the daily calcium needs for 7-9-year-old child.³,⁴,⁵

2. Calcium Rich Vegetables

Non-dairy sources like calcium rich vegetables contribute to calcium intake, however, have comparatively lower absorption rate due to presence of oxalates. These calcium rich vegetables include agathi leaves, bengal gram leaves, amaranth leaves, drumstick leaves, radish leaves, cowpea leaves, fenugreek leaves, colocasia leaves, spinach, broccoli and ladyfinger. ³,⁵

Benefits of plant-based calcium rich foods for lactose-intolerant:⁶

Children with lactose intolerance can get the required calcium from non-dairy calcium sources if carefully planned.

• Including non-Dairy Calcium rich foods for lactose intolerant-

Calcium rich vegetables, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, almonds, soybean, and its products are non-dairy foods high in calcium for those with lactose intolerance.⁵

3. Calcium rich fruits

Calcium rich fruits can be included as a mid-meal snack. Oranges, figs, kiwi, dates and dried apricot are some of the calcium rich fruits. In addition to calcium, they provide essential vitamins and minerals required by your child.⁵

4. Calcium Rich Indian foods

There are many calcium rich Indian foods. These include like finger millet (ragi), amaranth, sesame seeds (til), soybean, soy chunks, granules, green leafy such as bengal gram leaves, amaranth leaves, drumstick leaves, almonds.⁵

How Calcium Rich Indian Foods can be incorporated into daily meals –

• Ragi – porridge with almonds or sesame seeds, ragi malt, ragi roti pizza with vegetables and cheese
• Amaranth-porridge with almonds or sesame seeds, upma, dosa, healthy muffins using nuts and seeds
• Sesame seeds, almonds – as it is with fruits for a snack, made into energy bars or crackers, added to salads or wraps or sauces and dips
• Soy chunks, granules can be added to vegetables, used as filling for wraps, paratha or sandwiches
• Green leafy vegetables – can be added to lentil curries, roti or paratha dough, dosa batter etc.

These calcium rich Indian foods will contribute to the essential calcium your child needs to grow.

Calcium Rich Foods for Different Age Groups

A. Calcium for Kids

Why calcium is important for growing children’s bones?

Getting enough calcium in every stage of development supports a positive calcium balance, muscle growth, height growth, and nerve health. Hence is important to include calcium rich foods for kids in their crucial growth phase.^1,7

Recommended calcium intake for kids:  This varies as per age as given below (ICMR NIN 2024) ⁴

Best Sources of calcium for kids⁸

Include these calcium rich foods for kids:

• Milk, curd, yogurt, paneer, and cheese are among the best sources of calcium for kids. Most kids love paneer, yogurt, and cheese. Milk is among the no-fuss foods high in calcium for kids.
• Also green leafy vegetables, sesame seeds, eggs, almonds, tofu (soy paneer), soy foods, eggs, and fishes like Indian salmon (ravas), sardine (tarli), mackerel (bangda) are good sources of calcium for kids.
• Fortified foods such as cereals or plant-based milks can also be a part of healthy diet to build up the intake of calcium for kids.

B. Calcium rich foods for babies:

Introducing Calcium rich foods in your baby’s meals-⁹

• Baby friendly foods like ragi/amaranth porridge, yogurt with mashed fruit, khichdi (cereals- ragi/amaranth with lentils, pureed green leafy vegetables), soft cooked eggs, mashed tofu/paneer can be added to khichadi or soft cooked rice, etc. can be included as calcium rich foods for babies.

C. Calcium Needs for Adults and Elderly:

An adult man and women are recommended to consume 1000mg of calcium daily, however, for requirements go up to 1200mg with menopause. Elderly individuals (age> 60 years) also have high daily calcium requirements of 1200 mg.4 Focus on calcium intake remains important through adulthood and later in life.

• How calcium intake changes with age

Intake of foods changes with age. Adolescents are at risk of calcium deficiency as they may have more sugar-sweetened beverages or drinks low in calcium. In adults, food habits change with lifestyle and with other priorities in professional and personal life, focus on healthy foods becomes sidelined. In elderly individuals, reduced overall intake of food may lead to poor intake of nutrients especially calcium. Hence, including calcium rich foods is important for all age groups. ¹⁰

How to upsurge Calcium Absorption

• Importance of Vitamin D in calcium absorption: Vitamin D also called sunshine vitamin is important for calcium absorption in our body. Make sure that kids play well in the sunshine, especially in the mornings.
• How protein and magnesium help in better calcium utilization: Magnesium is a mineral that helps to convert vitamin D into its active forms, consequently helping calcium absorption. In addition, a low protein intake leads to lower magnesium uptake. Hence, protein and magnesium are also important for better calcium uptake by the body.¹¹,¹²,¹³

Conclusion

Calcium is an important mineral for growth and development in children. It is important to include calcium rich foods for kids to prevent weak bones and growth failure. Calcium rich foods such as dairy foods, calcium rich vegetables, calcium rich fruits, nuts, seeds, soybean etc. can be included. Ragi, amaranth, sesame seeds, certain fishes are calcium rich Indian foods that can be included. Sometimes you may be unable to meet calcium needs due to food preferences, or simply your child may not be able to eat enough. Here is where nutritional drink like Complan can be included to a balanced diet. It contains 63% more protein than other malt-based nutritional drink. It has 34 vital nutrients including calcium to support your child’s growth.

References:

¹ Shertukde, S. P., Cahoon, D. S., Prado, B., Cara, K. C., & Chung, M. (2022). Calcium Intake and Metabolism in Infants and Young Children: A Systematic Review of Balance Studies for Supporting the Development of Calcium Requirements. Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.), 13(5), 1529–1553. https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmac003

² Shertukde, S. P., Cahoon, D. S., Prado, B., Cara, K. C., & Chung, M. (2022). Calcium Intake and Metabolism in Infants and Young Children: A Systematic Review of Balance Studies for Supporting the Development of Calcium Requirements. Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.), 13(5), 1529–1553. https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmac003

³ Shkembi B, Huppertz T. Calcium Absorption from Food Products: Food Matrix Effects. Nutrients. 2021 Dec 30;14(1):180. doi: 10.3390/nu14010180. PMID: 35011055; PMCID: PMC8746734.

⁴ Indian Council of Medical Research – National Institute of Nutrition. (2025). Recommended dietary allowances – Short report 2024. Retrieved March 06, 2025, from https://www.nin.res.in/RDA_short_Report_2024.html

⁵ Longvah, T., Ananthan, R., Bhaskarachary, K., & Venkaiah, K. (2017). Indian food composition tables. National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313226719

⁶  Facioni, M. S., Raspini, B., Pivari, F., Dogliotti, E., & Cena, H. (2020). Nutritional management of lactose intolerance: the importance of diet and food labelling. Journal of translational medicine, 18(1), 260. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-020-02429-2

⁷ Bouziani, A., Saeid, N., Benkirane, H., Qandoussi, L., Taboz, Y., El Hamdouchi, A., El Kari, K., El Mzibri, M., & Aguenaou, H. (2018). Dietary Calcium Intake in Sample of School Age Children in City of Rabat, Morocco. Journal of nutrition and metabolism, 2018, 8084623. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/8084623

⁸ Office of the Surgeon General (US). Bone Health and Osteoporosis: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville (MD): Office of the Surgeon General (US); 2004. Table 7-2, Selected Food Sources of Calcium. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK45523/table/ch7.t2/

⁹  Thandrayen, K., & Pettifor, J. M. (2018). The roles of vitamin D and dietary calcium in nutritional rickets. Bone reports, 8, 81–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bonr.2018.01.005

¹⁰ Beto J. A. (2015). The role of calcium in human aging. Clinical nutrition research, 4(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.7762/cnr.2015.4.1.1

¹¹ Bourassa, M. W., Abrams, S. A., Belizán, J. M., Boy, E., Cormick, G., Quijano, C. D., Gibson, S., Gomes, F., Hofmeyr, G. J., Humphrey, J., Kraemer, K., Lividini, K., Neufeld, L. M., Palacios, C., Shlisky, J., Thankachan, P., Villalpando, S., & Weaver, C. M. (2022). Interventions to improve calcium intake through foods in populations with low intake. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1511(1), 40–58. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14743

¹² Jahnen-Dechent, W., & Ketteler, M. (2012). Magnesium basics. Clinical kidney journal, 5(Suppl 1), i3–i14. https://doi.org/10.1093/ndtplus/sfr163

¹³ Uwitonze, A. M., & Razzaque, M. S. (2018). Role of Magnesium in Vitamin D Activation and Function. The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, 118(3), 181–189. https://doi.org/10.7556/jaoa.2018.037