Reap Calcium from Your Greens

Dairy products don't have the only comer on calcium. Vegetables contain calcium, too, but you have to be resourceful in order to make produce a major calcium source.

There's no doubt that green, leafy vegetables are valuable calcium sources, particularly broccoli, bok choy, turnip greens, and kale. But there's good and bad news about the calcium that plants can provide.
First, the good news. Generally speaking, calcium from vegetables is just as available to the body as the calcium in milk,'according to calcium expert Connie M. Weaver, Ph.D. One surprising exception: spinach. Nearly all of its calcium goes right through you, bound up by plant substances
What's the downside? The question of quantity, she says. While the body can absorb the calcium contained in most green, leafy vegetables, there just isn't a lot for the taking. For example, you must eat more than 2V2 cups of cooked broccoli or almost 2 cups of kale to get the calcium of 8 ounces of milk.
In other words, if you're going to try to make vegetables your main calcium source, you'd better like gigantic salads and be willing to find ways to work greens into most of your dishes.

This dish packs 489 grams of calcium by combining an entire pound of broccoli with dairy products.