What if I cannot drink milk?
Apart from milk, a number of foods in our diet are calcium rich. You can choose some other calcium-rich foods as alternatives. Here are some examples:
Yoghurt
If you had lactose intolerance or experienced stomach discomfort or diarrhea after drinking milk, you can choose yoghurt as an alternative. During food processing, lactose in cheese and yoghurt is digested by bacteria and therefore those with lactose intolerance can still enjoy cheese and yoghurt.
Cheese
Sliced processed cheese is rich in calcium. Two slices of cheese contain calcium of similar levels to one cup of milk. Some products are added with calcium and may contain a higher calcium content. We can try cheese sandwich, adding cheese in omelette or spaghetti to increase ways to absorb calcium.
Calcium-fortified soy milk
One cup of milk contains about 300mg calcium. Compare with milk, ordinary soy milk, is low in calcium. There is only 14-72mg calcium in a 240ml cup of regular soymilk. Therefore, homemade or non calcium-fortified soymilk cannot replace milk to provide calcium.
A carton (~240ml) of calcium fortified soy milk contains about 220-400mg of calcium, which is comparable with milk of the same volume. You can refer to calcium content on the nutrition labels on different products for comparison to choose the one that suit you.
Other non-dairy calcium-rich foods
Apart from milk, you may choose other calcium rich foods more often. Here are some examples that contain about 300mg calcium (the amount of calcium in one cup of milk):
- 1/2 block of firm tofu (set with calcium salt)
- 1 bowl of tofu pudding
- 3 tablespoons of sesame
- 3 sardines with bones
- Dark green leafy vegetables:
- 200g (5 taels): kale, bok choi
- 300g (~ 7-8 taels): choy sum
You may also refer to the “Meeting Your Calcium Needs” pamphlet and watch the “How can we get adequate calcium in our diet?” video for more ideas to make your diet calcium-rich