The KInd Life Community Forum

Use this space to share stories, exchange ideas, ask questions, and contribute to our growing community!

Forum
Vegans Get Support!
Vegan Calcium Sources

Vegan Calcium Sources

Started by Ragdolly on February 25, 2011

11 Comments

Ragdolly said #1 Feb 25, 2011 at 5:14pm

Hello,

I'd like a rundown on the vegan calcium sources. I already know about broccoli and sesame seeds. And yes I know about fortified soy or rice milks, but what else is there?

My grandpa has lost all his teeth and so bone loss disease could be a problem for me if I want to be a vegan for years to come.

I take 2 or 3 calcium citrates daily with a meal (non D-3). I wonder if these are useless like they say vitamin supplements are.

Vicky Taylor said #2 Feb 26, 2011 at 12:18pm

Hi - I get my calcium from dark lefy greens like kale, collards, bok choy etc. I do not take any supplements with my vegan diet except B12.

I just googled "Vegan Calcium Sources" and came up with this: http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/calcium.htm

Ragdolly said #3 Feb 26, 2011 at 12:41pm

^Thanks. I knew about Google but wanted to talk to a real person about their faves and or which vegan calcium sources work best for them. Out of yours, I do love bok choy, but prefer it when it's kim chi aka pickled version of bok choy. I had no idea it had calcium, interesting... I need to stock up! =P

straycat said #4 Feb 26, 2011 at 2:26pm

Hi Ragdolly,

Did you know that many brands of calcium citrate is made from animal bones and/or dried rocks. I would encourage you to do some research about calcium sources. I use a product called "Green Calcium" by Vibrant Health (Whole Foods sells it). It is made from Hydrilla Verticillata which is a rooted fresh water plant renowed for it's nutriental density. It is very high in calcium and B12 along with tons of other minerals. One level tablespoon (it's a powder) a day give you 62.4% of the daily suggested value. And 7,750% of B12! I add it to my cereal, my smoothies, sprinkle it on my salads. Check it out!!!

Ragdolly said #5 Feb 26, 2011 at 2:33pm

Hi straycat,

Like you and Vicky I too take *some* B vitamins. Everyday I take a vegan multi. Every other day I take a vegan B (it includes all the B's and also vitamin C). The B vitamins give me a headache so I won't take them everyday.

No I didn't know about the calcium citrate being possibly made from animal bones. TY for the warning. I will look for Green Calcium by Vibrant Health online. I really doubt they'd have that in the stores here.

Hazel said #6 Feb 26, 2011 at 2:35pm

Hi Ragdolly, I'm gonna post one of my other posts:

I'm not sure how much you should really be eating, for me I just try to get a serving at each meal if I can, and I've been trying really hard to make my snacks veggies like steamed broccoli or bok choy, because they are so yummy.

Here are a couple of links, maybe you can find something on them to help you:

http://pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/4foodgroups.pdf

http://veganhealth.org/

http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/vegan.htm

Veganhealth.com recommends three servings of calcium (as an example) a day (PCRM says a serving of veggies is 1/2 cup cooked, or 1 cup raw). Theoretically, you could mix stuff to get servings of calcium from greens, almonds, tahini, plant milk. Think about other greens, if you haven't tried them - bok choy is really good for you, and baby bok choy is really delicious, mustard greens, watercress, and dandelion greens are easy to add to salads, just be careful because too much of them can make the salad bitter. I am personally hoping to grow my own this year because I find it hard to finish a bunch if I buy it, before it goes bad, because I haven't found a way to eat it yet that isn't overwhelming except for some leaves mixed in a salad, or mixed with kale. One of my friends grew them last year and they were really easy to grow, so that's my plan so I can get more nutrition without having to buy huge bunches of stuff from the store. Anyway, I hope that gives you some ideas.

I really like broccoli, bok choy, kale, almonds, tahini, collards, and tempeh.

Hazel said #7 Feb 26, 2011 at 2:37pm

Maybe you should try the sublingual or liquid B vitamin, which is supposed to be better absorbed anyway? I don't know, but maybe it would make a difference. You could also just try reducing it to just a couple of times a week instead of every other day.

And like mentioned, you may want to make sure any supplements you take are vegan, as there can be hidden sources (to the regular consumer, anyway) of some things which come from animals.

Ragdolly said #8 Feb 26, 2011 at 2:52pm

Hey Hazel, I'm sure the vitamins I take are vegan (except the calcium citrate of course) because I purchased them from vegan store and they say so. The brand's Vegan Life. As far as the liquid B...

I heard doctors can give an injection of B. I wonder if that is vegan and if that's a good idea for maybe twice a year or something...

That's not my concern really, my energy levels are fine. It's calcium that was nagging me. So many women get these bone problems when they're older.

So you say almonds, plant milk, tahini( don't know what that is), raw veggies? Raw veggies... any or just broccoli and dark greens? I don't eat many raw vegetables except for yellow squash... that's very good raw... and butter lettuce.

We don't have dandelion products at the Safeway that I know of, but they do have bean sprouts, which have a dark green bud. That's the only grocery store, besides a really modest small one with less variety.

Good luck with your garden. A green thumb is not something I ever had... It's sad!

Ragdolly said #9 Feb 26, 2011 at 4:55pm

BTW crushed rocks is fine with me, not the bones... but there's probably no way of telling by looking at the bottle...

Laszlo HUszar said #10 Apr 22, 2012 at 3:49am

POPPY SEEDS!! Full of nutrition! 1500 mg calcium (150% rda) / 100 g poppy seeds!!!

1 2 Next

Join the Discussion!

Login or create an account on The Kind Life today and you'll be able to leave comments, share photos and videos with friends, and participate in community events!