Calcium Containing Foods and Supplements for Bone Health

I know I've been writing a lot about bone health lately, but bones are something we all have, and the health of our bones, especially as we age, often determines our long term mobility and quality of life.

Not to sound dramatic, but broken bones, especially as we reach a certain age, can be hugely detrimental and difficult to fully recover from; which is why bone health and bone strength is so important as we age, so I wanted to write a bit more about calcium.

Calcium is not the only mineral beneficial for bone health but it is the most important one since it's literally what our bones are made of. The recommended daily amount of calcium for most people is 1,000 mg a day, that recommendation increases for women over 50 and men over 70. 

Food sources are a great and an important way to get a lot of your calcium intake and I am linking a list of common calcium containing foods so you can get an idea of how much you're getting each day on our website here. Most people, with a little planning, can get quite a bit of calcium in their daily diets, although the majority of people, even if they're mindful about their calcium intake, are not getting the recommended amounts each day. That's where calcium supplements come in.

If you look at calcium supplements they're generally listed by how many pills you need to take to get 1000 mg since that's the regular recommended dose. If you're getting calcium daily from foods however, you don't necessarily need to take that whole 1,000mg dose as a calcium supplement, but calcium supplements can be especially helpful to fill in the gaps.

Women in particular need to be thinking about their calcium intake since during and after menopause, our estrogen levels drop which speeds up bone loss (estrogen levels begin to drop in perimenopause around age 45).

One helpful thing is that our our food labels in America list the calcium content for calcium-containing foods. It's a good idea to start reading labels for yogurts, cheeses, or other calcium containing foods to see how much calcium they actually contain since different varieties and even different brands can have very different calcium contents. 

It can be trickier for people who are dairy-free or vegan or have a dairy allergy. There are plenty of dairy-free foods that contain calcium but many of them are not super high in calcium, so it makes supplementation even more important. 

The thing about calcium supplements is that they are not created equal and there are a lot of different forms of calcium available- some are much better than others. For example, calcium carbonate is the most common calcium that's in drugstore calciums. It's not necessarily bad, but it's harder for the body to absorb especially as we age because it needs stomach acid to be broken down. As we age the amount of stomach acid we have naturally decreases, also people who are on acid blockers will not be able to break down this form of calcium so it can be absorbed. 

Better forms of calcium are calcium citrate, calcium hydroxyapatite, or chelated forms like calcium aspartite (chelated means that it's bound to an amino acid to help absoption). The thing about many better absorbing forms of calcium is that they can take up more room in a pill, especially when combined with magnesium or other calcium absorption enhancing supplements. Sometimes people see that and they're discouraged because they don't want to take three or four calcium pills a day, but remember, if you're getting calcium through your diet and are kind of keeping track, you don't necessarily need to get the entire daily value of calcium in a supplement.

Calcium supplements should actually be split up or taken as smaller amounts because your body is only able to absorb about 500mg of calcium at once from supplements. If you're taking for a whole 1,000mg dose at one time your body is not going to be able to absorb it and you're wasting your time and even possibly damaging your body since having a bunch of unabsorbed calcium floating around is not ideal. 

Please stop in the store so we can give you more individualized advice and answer any questions you might have about bone health or calcium supplementation. 

Calcium, food, and supplements are not the only ways to increase bone strength, exercise is important too and can make a big difference in bone health. Weight bearing exercises like walking or running and resistance exercises like lifting weights help to enhance and maintain bone strength. Balance and flexibility exercises like yoga can also be helpful and have actually been shown to help with reducing fractures in older adults. 

Helpful Links:

List of Calcium Content in Foods

Bone Health, Menopause, and Calcium

Pass Health Foods is a women owned, independent health food store at 7228 W. College Drive in Palos Heights, Illinois.

List of Calcium Content in Foods

List of Calcium Containing Foods

This is not an exhaustive list but has many of the best high calcium containing foods available.

We recommend reading the labels of individual products, particularly for dairy products since the calcium content of various packaged dairy products can sometimes vary between brands and varieties (yogurt in particular).

Dairy

• Yogurt, plain low-fat (1 cup): 450 mg (check labels, because content varies)

• Greek yogurt, plain (8 oz): 250–261 mg

• Milk, 1% (1 cup): 305 mg; Skim (1 cup): 298 mg

• Mozzarella, part-skim (1.5 oz): 333 mg

• Cheddar (1 oz): ~200 mg

• Cottage cheese, 1% (1 cup): 138 mg

Fish    

• Sardines, canned with bones (3 oz): 325 mg

• Salmon, canned with bones (3 oz): 181 mg

Soy & Legumes  

• Tofu, firm (½ cup, with calcium sulfate): 250–434 mg

• Soybeans, cooked (½ cup): 131 mg

• Edamame, cooked (1 cup): 98 mg

• White beans, cooked (1 cup): 161 mg

• Navy beans, cooked (1 cup): 126 mg

• Chickpeas, cooked (1 cup): 80 mg

• Pinto beans, canned (½ cup): 54 mg

Vegetables  

• Spinach (1 cup): 245 mg * (see note below about poor absorption)

• Collard greens (1 cup): 268 mg

• Bok choy (1 cup): 185 mg

• Kale (1 cup): 177 mg

• Mustard greens (1 cup): 165 mg

• Broccoli, cooked (1 cup): 60 mg

Nuts, Seeds & Spreads  

• Chia seeds (1 Tbsp): 76 mg

• Sesame seeds (1 Tbsp): ~88 mg

• Tahini (1 Tbsp): ~154 mg

• Almonds (1 oz): ~76 mg

• Poppy seeds (1 Tbsp): ~40 mg

• Blackstrap molasses (1 Tbsp): ~135 mg

Fruits & Dried Fruits (dairy-free)

• Orange (1 medium): ~55–60 mg

• Dried figs (~2 figs): 55–100 mg

*Note: Spinach is high in calcium, but contains other compounds that reduce calcium absorption, so even though it’s high in spinach, only about 5% of that calcium is able to be absorbed by the body.

Helpful Links:

Bone Health: Getting Calcium through Foods and Supplements

Bone Health, Menopause, and Calcium

Pass Health Foods is a women owned, independent health food store at 7228 W. College Drive in Palos Heights, Illinois.

Help for Nighttime Leg Cramps

I came across a new study on leg cramps that I wanted to share- new research has shown that vitamin K can help with reducing painful nighttime leg cramps.

The study used vitamin K2, in the form of MK-7 (the best absorbing type of vitamin K) over 8 weeks. They found that daily use significantly reduced the occurrence of nighttime leg cramps and also reduced the duration of the leg cramps that did occur. 

The results were impressive- at the beginning of the study, most of the participants had nearly 3 nighttime leg cramps per week, and after using vitamin K2 (in the MK-7 form) the frequency of leg cramps was reduced to less than one a week. 

Vitamin K2 is best known for its benefits for bone health. It tells calcium where to go in the body, directing it to go into the bones and to stay out of the arteries. 

Vitamin K2 in research has shown benefits for helping to strengthen bones. Numerous studies have shown it's ability to reduce fractures and help with increasing bone strength. It's actually been approved in Japan for osteoporosis treatment since the 1990s.

Vitamin K2 can be beneficial for everyone, but it's shown the greatest results for bone health in postmenopausal women.

The only people who shouldn't take vitamin K are people on prescription blood thinners without speaking to their doctor first (anyone on prescription blood thinners needs to be very careful with the supplements they take due to interactions).

Stop in and see us for more information and to help us find the product that’s right for you. We’re at 7228 W. College Drive in Palos Heights and have a very kind, knowledgeable staff.

Now Foods Factory Tour

This past month we were able to tour Now Food's manufacturing facility in Bloomingdale, Illinois! We've carried Now for years and have always liked the brand, but seeing the amazing laboratories they had and the impressive amount of testing they do on their supplements was really neat. It was also fun seeing the supplements actually being made and bottled. 

In addition to extensive quality testing, they test all of their supplements for pesticide residue of over 425 pesticides to make sure they are free from any contaminants down to 10 parts per billion as well as heavy metals, and much more. Something else they mentioned is since they sell their products in 100 countries (which is pretty impressive for an Illinois company) they need to abide by all of those countries requirements and standards, some that are much more strict than the US, which i thought was pretty interesting.

We definitely recommend them as a brand, and are glad we expanded their line this year and decided to run all of their supplements and essential oils on sale every day.

From left to right: Owners Carolyn and Liz, and our manager Ale

Bone Health, Menopause, and Calcium

As women age, most will experience problems with bone density and osteoporosis or osteopenia (the precursor to osteoporosis). 

This bone loss is directly related to a natural reduction in estrogen as we enter menopause or perimenopause. We usually think of estrogen and its role in reproductive health, but estrogen also directly impacts our bone health. 

Estrogen works to help proper bone formation and to reduce the breakdown of bone. When estrogen levels drop, bone loss accelerates. 

It would be ideal for women to start thinking about bone health and making sure they're supplementing with bone building supplements in their 30s, but most young women are not worried about bone health.

One bones hold our body's stores of calcium, like a bank. Calcium is needed for lots of processes in the body- cardiovascular health for one, and when dietary calcium is not sufficient, calcium is withdrawn from the bank (our bones) leaving them weaker. 

We can't change the past in regards to dietary calcium or calcium supplementation, but beginning now can make a real difference in bone health. 

There are lots of calcium supplements, and they are not created equal. We have some great ones at the store that are easily absorbed- Jarrow's Bone Up is probably our favorite, and Country Life has some great calciums as well.  

Some calcium tips would be to split up your dosage, your body can only absorb around 500mg if calcium at one time, so taking more than that isn't the best choice, since unabsorbed, unusable calcium floating around in your body can actually be a negative. 

Also, calcium can be hard for the body to absorb, which is why it's important to look for better forms like calcium hydroxyapatite or calcium citrate, and also to combine calcium with other supplements that enhance absorption and bone strength like magnesium, vitamin K, vitamin D, and others.  

Stop in so we can help you find the product that's right for you! We’re at 7228 W. College Drive in Palos Heights!

2025 Vegan Baking Contest Winners

Thank you to everyone who came out to our Vegan Baking Contest! All of the entries were absolutely wonderful, and we’re so thankful to everyone who entered. A huge thank you to Mary Anne McKenna Bryan from the Chicago Southside & South Suburban Vegans for being our vegan judge!

Winning Recipes (with links):

First Place:

Vegan Maple Bourbon Sweet Potato Cake by Amirh Miles

Second Place:

Vegan Strawberry Cream Brownies by Barb Weber

Third Place:

Vegan Orange Olive Oil Cake by Chloe Deluna

Our contest winners, pictured below from left to right: Chloe Deluna, Barb Weber, and Amirh Miles:

It was a really wonderful time!

Multivitamins May Prevent Cognitive Decline

A new study published in the journal, Alzheimer's & Dementia, reported that in a trial of more than 2,200 men and women over 65, that taking a daily multivitamin over three years reduced mental decline by 60% over that period. Multivitamin use was associated with better cognition, improved episodic memory, and better executive function. Interestingly, the benefits were even greater among people with heart disease.

Antioxidants have been shown to help the brain, and many deficiencies in different vitamins have been shown to affect thinking and our mental state.

A multivitamin is no substitute for a healthy diet, but even those of us who go out of our way to eat healthy often aren't having as varied or diet with each of the different micronutrients necessary for ideal health. A multivitamin can help to cover those bases.

For example, it's estimated that over 50%, Americans age 65 and older are not getting the required announce of the various vitamins and minerals needed to maintain proper health, and one of the ways that that can manifest itself is by memory problems and an impact in brain functioning.

We have a great selection of natural multivitamins at Pass Health Foods, many of which have coenzyme B vitamins (also known as active B vitamins, or methylated B vitamins), which we would especially recommend, particularly for maintaining brain health. Not everyone can absorb conventional B vitamins due to a common gene malfunction (the MTHFR gene), and deficiencies in B vitamins, particularly B12, have been linked to increased neurological issues, memory problems, and confusion.

Stop by the store so we can help find the product that's right for you!

Smoothies for the New Year

As we look ahead to 2025, choosing to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables is a great resolution. An easy way to accomplish that is by a morning smoothie.

Smoothies are a great way to start the day with multiple servings of fruits and veggies, which most people are sorely lacking in their diets. They're easily customizable to your preferences, and are simple to throw together in the mornings (you can even prep your smoothie ingredients ahead of time, Liz uses reusable silicone bags to portion out her smoothie ingredients ahead of time, which is a great idea).

There are lots of smoothie recipes online (we also have a recipe posted at the bottom of this newsletter), but remember, they don't need to be at all elaborate, all you need is some frozen fruit and a liquid to blend it up. It's also a great way of using up odds and ends in your refrigerator or freezer (If you have any fruits that are starting to get a bit too soft, throw them in a bag in the freezer to use for a smoothie).

If you're going to commit to drinking smoothie in 2025, we'd recommend getting a single serve blender that blends your ingredients in the same cup you drink from. They're so much easier to use and clean, but any blender will work.

These are a few of our favorite smoothie add ins, with some of their benefits:

Matcha powder: Matcha is ground green tea leaves and since you're getting the whole leaf it has much higher antioxidants than drinking green tea. Also, for whatever magical reason, adding a teaspoon of matcha powder to a smoothie does not seem to change the taste. It just makes it a nice green color so you can feel extra healthy when you're drinking it. I don't really like drinking green tea, but I'm definitely a fan of matcha in a smoothie.

Collagen: Our Collagen Peptides powder by Nature's Plus is completely tasteless and is an amazing smoothie addition. Collagen is greatly lacking in our modern diets and can help with bones, connective tissue, skin, and even digestive health. It's also a good source of protein, which makes it a perfect addition to a morning smoothie.

Fish oil liquid: I know this sounds crazy, but we have flavored fish oil liquids at the store that taste great (the orange in particular is great in smoothies) that are high potency and give a great dose of omega 3s in just one teaspoon. We have free samples at the store for you to take home to try on your smoothies, so just ask us for one at the register!

A few other great additions are moringa, creatine, flax seeds, hemp seeds, chia, and protein powder.

Smoothie Sweeteners:

If you're mixing your fruit smoothie with water, it may not be sweet enough for most people's liking. We'd recommend adding a bit of maple syrup for sweetness (start with just a touch, because it's very sweet). Maple syrup has been in the news lately for being a beneficial sweetener, you can read the article here, but keep in mind that it still is a sweetener that contains sugar, so it should be used in moderation.

Another idea is liquid stevia extract, since it's a natural sugar free sweetener it will give a bit of sweetness without raising blood sugar. I'd recommend starting with half a dropper worth since too much stevia can add a weird aftertaste and adjust from there. Stevia doesn't taste exactly like sugar, but it has zero calories and is sugar free, so I feel like it's a good option for that reason.

New Curcumin Research for Eyes and AMD

I’ve written about curcumin and its benefits numerous times, but I came across a new study just published this past month that I wanted to pass along since it reported a new benefit for people taking curcumin supplements.

Curcumin is the active ingredient in the spice turmeric, so the reason a person would want to take turmeric is to get the benefits from the extract curcumin; just like an orange has vitamin C, turmeric has curcumin.  Curcumin is great for reducing inflammation in the body and is commonly used to help with reducing pain from injuries or arthritis, but unlike over-the-counter anti-inflammatories like Ibuprofen, it’s safe to take every day (and is actually beneficial to take daily).

This new research found that curcumin also appears to have a benefit for eyesight, working to prevent age-related macular degeneration, as well as conferring a decreased risk of developing complications for people who had already been diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration.  Now I wouldn’t say that curcumin is a substitute for eye supplements like lutein and zeaxanthin, which I’d say are the gold standard for protecting the eyes, but it’s a good addition, especially since curcumin has so many other benefits (I personally love it when a supplement I already take has a new benefit that scientists discover).

Curcumin is a great supplement, but it can be difficult for the body to absorb, which is why it’s important to look for extracts that are specially made to increase absorption, so you can get the benefits without having to take a huge dose (since large amounts of curcumin can bother some people’s stomachs). We especially recommend the curcumin from Natural Factors since it’s so well absorbed- both Liz and I (Carolyn) take it regularly.  It’s a tiny capsule that’s easy to swallow and it’s on sale every day, so I’d definitely say to give it a try! 

Curcumin has shown so many different benefits in preliminary research on a wide variety of subjects and has demonstrated benefits for inflammatory bowel disease as well as heart and blood vessel health. Curcumin has also been shown to have neuroprotective benefits on the brain and is a potent antioxidant.

Stop by and see us at 7228 W. College Drive in Palos Heights!

Mushroom Coffee and Medicinal Mushroom Benefits

Everyone has been talking about mushroom coffee, since it's advertised a lot on Facebook and other social media sites. We have great mushroom coffees at our store by Laird and Four Sigmatic. I wasn't sure how they would taste at first because while I like mushrooms, I didn't necessarily want mushroom-flavored coffee, but I tried the Laird's Mushroom Coffee (their "Perform" variety with Lion’s Mane) and I thought it tasted great with no hint of "mushroominess" - I really liked it!

Medicinal mushrooms have so many benefits, but there's nothing special about combining mushroom extracts with coffee. I think it's just an easy way to take a mushroom supplement consistently. Medicinal mushrooms, and most supplements, work best when they're part of an everyday regimen.

If you're not a coffee drinker, or if mushroom coffee is not your thing, it's easy to take a mushroom complex capsule daily. In general, I like a mushroom supplement that is a combination of different medicinal mushrooms because they have so many unique benefits, but we do also have single mushroom supplements like straight lion's mane, rishi, etc.

Medicinal mushrooms like lion's mane and rishi have had a lot of research done about them lately with impressive benefits. That research is still ongoing so I wouldn't say that there's anything 100% conclusive, but mushrooms definitely seem like a good idea (and have been used medicinally for thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine). Here are a few of the benefits of some of the more popular mushrooms. This is not an exhaustive list, and it includes both traditional uses and benefits found in preliminary research:

Lion's Mane: Boosts brain function and mental clarity. Helpful for nerves and diabetic symptoms. Has anti-cancer properties.

Chaga: High antioxidant properties, can reduce inflammation and help digestive issues. Has anti-cancer properties. Shows promise for degenerative diseases.

Reishi: Boosts energy, can help with lowering blood pressure and cholesterol. Helpful for detoxing the body and for immune health. May ease side effects of chemotherapy. May help depression and anxiety.

Cordyceps:  Boosts energy, can help lower cholesterol. May help degenerative neurological disorders.

Turkey Tail: Boosts immune functioning, may help to increase survival rates with certain cancers.

There are many other beneficial mushrooms, these are just a few of the most popular and only a few of their reported benefits. We have a great selection of mushroom supplements, mushroom coffee, drinks, and more at Pass Health Foods at 7228 W. College Drive in Palos Heights.