Calcium

A commonly asked question is, "How can I get enough calcium if I don't drink milk?"

While there is lots of calcium in milk, it is not the best absorbable form for humans. Cow milk is meant for a baby cow to double its birth weight in 30 days. Human milk is meant for a baby human to double its birth weight in 6 months. The nutrient composition is very different. Mother cows get all their calcium from the grass they eat. We, as humans, can get all the calcium we need from the vegetable kingdom as well.

The following is a list of vegetable-based sources highly absorbable calcium: Low-oxylate greens (bok choy, broccoli, kale, chinese cabbage, and collard greens), juices fortified with calcium citrate malate, calcium-set tofu, sesame seeds, and almonds.

Also, keeping your animal protein consumption low, no more than about 40 grams per day, will decrease your body's need to pull calcium and other alkalinizing minerals out of the bones to neutralize the acid generated by those proteins.

For more information, go to
http://www.pcrm.org/health/diabetes/pdfs/ADAVegetarianPositionPaper2009.pdf