how much calcium?

Options
sarahTV
sarahTV Posts: 65 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have been tracking my calcium for the past month because I'm not a big milk drinker and wanted to make sure I was meeting my requirements. It seems like if I have even 1 ounce of cheese, I'm over my calcium requirement by a lot. What exactly are the recommendations for women and calcium on this site? I feel like 1 piece of cheese is not enough calcium in my diet (and I do eat other calcium rich foods) but it seems odd to be over on it every single day.

And to add to that, is it bad to go over on my calcium every day? I always thought that you couldn't get too much calcium if you're a woman.

I've looked over other threads on the site and I am still unsure of the correct answer, anyone who can explain it to me, I'd appreciate it :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • NightOwl1
    NightOwl1 Posts: 881 Member
    Options
    The upper limit for calcium for a healthy adult is 250% of the Daily Recommended value. So if you are getting more than this a day, you are getting to much and should scale it back.
  • Enigmatica
    Enigmatica Posts: 879 Member
    Options
    My doctor handed me a recently released alert about new studies showing that we're getting too much calcium - and that it can lead to calcium deposits forming in our blood vessels. Obviously not a good thing! I had always thought that we were supposed to get *at least* 1200mg of calcium per day. Now they're saying *don't exceed* 1200mg per day for most people. It varies a bit depending on your age and whether you're pregnant or nursing.
  • sarahTV
    sarahTV Posts: 65 Member
    Options
    The upper limit for calcium for a healthy adult is 250% of the Daily Recommended value. So if you are getting more than this a day, you are getting to much and should scale it back.

    Thank you, I'll try to aim for 250% now...it seems strange to have it set at 100 and see it turn red everyday.
  • sarahTV
    sarahTV Posts: 65 Member
    Options
    My doctor handed me a recently released alert about new studies showing that we're getting too much calcium - and that it can lead to calcium deposits forming in our blood vessels. Obviously not a good thing! I had always thought that we were supposed to get *at least* 1200mg of calcium per day. Now they're saying *don't exceed* 1200mg per day for most people. It varies a bit depending on your age and whether you're pregnant or nursing.

    I think so many women have that fear of osteoporosis that they try to consume as much calcium as they possibly can! I had 3 kids in 5 years and was nursing pretty much the whole time, so I guess I will try to keep my levels at the maximum recommended amount for a a while and then scale it back eventually. Thank you for your input!
  • Enigmatica
    Enigmatica Posts: 879 Member
    Options
    My doctor handed me a recently released alert about new studies showing that we're getting too much calcium - and that it can lead to calcium deposits forming in our blood vessels. Obviously not a good thing! I had always thought that we were supposed to get *at least* 1200mg of calcium per day. Now they're saying *don't exceed* 1200mg per day for most people. It varies a bit depending on your age and whether you're pregnant or nursing.

    I think so many women have that fear of osteoporosis that they try to consume as much calcium as they possibly can! I had 3 kids in 5 years and was nursing pretty much the whole time, so I guess I will try to keep my levels at the maximum recommended amount for a a while and then scale it back eventually. Thank you for your input!

    Yeah, I was the same way - nursed all 3 of mine, for a total of 6 years out of my life, and was always concerned about getting enough calcium. I think most of us had it drummed into us growing up that we needed to drink our milk - get our calcium!!! It's true to a certain extent but apparently it's gone overboard. Calcium is added into a lot of foods now so chances are we're getting plenty. It's great that MFP makes it so easy to track it.

    My doctor uses MFP and loves to be able to check our nutrition habits, so she looked at mine and said to drop a supplement I was taking (Hair, Skin, Nails) because the amount of calcium in it was putting me way over limit and take biotin instead. And she said that getting lots of exercise helps prevent osteoporosis along with adequate calcium intake and plenty of vitamin D.

Categories