The common belief (or myth) is that milk is the body’s reliable source of calcium. Sure, technically, cow’s milk does have calcium. What remains in question is whether or not it is the best source of calcium and is it a source of absorbable calcium. Many researchers have proven that no, milk is not a source of absorbable calcium. Matter of fact, it’s not even the richest source of calcium.
What makes calcium from milk less absorbable than other sources? The many overlooked ‘co-factors’ of calcium absorption are magnesium, Vitamin D, and phosphorus—a key factor in delivering calcium to bones.
To be fair, milk does have small amounts of these necessary co-factors. However, not nearly as much as some other foods naturally high in calcium. Not surprisingly, some of the best vegetable kingdom sources of calcium are also the best sources of magnesium!
| Source per 100 mg edible portion | Amount of calcium in mg |
| Seaweeds (Hijiki being the highest) | 800-1400 |
| Brick cheese | 682 |
| Wheat/barley grass | 514 |
| Tahini* | 680 |
| Sardines | 443 |
| Agar-agar | 400 |
| Nori | 260 |
| Dried figs | 250 |
| Almonds | 233 |
| Amaranth grain | 222 |
| Hazelnuts | 209 |
| Parsley | 203 |
| Turnip greens | 191 |
| Brazil nuts | 186 |
| Sunflower seeds | 174 |
| Watercress | 151 |
| Garbanzo beans | 150 |
| Quinoa | 141 |
| Black beans | 135 |
| Pistachios | 135 |
| Pinto beans | 135 |
| Kale | 134 |
| Spirulina | 131 |
| Yogurt | 121 |
| Milk | 119 |
| Collard greens | 117 |
| Sesame seeds | 110 |
| Chinese cabbage | 106 |
| Tofu | 100 |
| Walnuts | 99 |
| Okra | 98 |
| Salmon | 79 |
| Cottage cheese | 60 |
| Eggs | 56 |
| Brown rice | 33 |
| Blue fish | 23 |
| Halibut | 13 |
| Chicken | 11 |
| Ground beef | 10 |
| Mackerel | 5 |
*Please note: 100g of tahini is almost 20 teaspoons– an awful lot to consume in one sitting.
What are things that block calcium absorption?
- Coffee, soft drinks, and diuretics
- Excess protein (high amounts of meat will actually induce loss calcium from the bones)
- Refined sugars
- Alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes, and other intoxicants
- Too much or too little exercise
There’s another common myth regarding milk. I often hear milk is a good source of protein. This is not really based in any concrete evidence. Milk is more fat than protein. 1 cup of whole milk is 66 calories, 3.9 g fat and ONLY 3.2 g protein! So, this may be reason for some to argue in favor of ‘skim milk’. I could probably write at least two pages on why skim milk is a bad idea… but in general, just think of it this way- if skim milk was better for you, don’t you think the cows would have adopted that by now?
There have been questions about raw milk and goat’s milk. They’re both okay if you feel like you have to drink milk. I would caution in that case – know where your milk comes from, go visit the farm, make sure the animals are free range and hormone free (don’t believe the labels because some of the biggest organic milk companies in the U.S. claims this and the reality is quite different from their label). All in all, milk is really unnecessary. As you can see above, there are at least 15 common foods that have way more calcium than milk. And, its more absorbable! However, if you must, be wise about your pick.
Non-dairy alternatives:
Almond milk, rice milk, hazelnut milk, oat milk, hemp milk, coconut milk, soy milk (soy is a topic for further debate; at this time I will just state that this is not a highly recommended replacement of dairy milk). Also, you may want to try coconut oil as a spread, instead of butter.
I would like to end with some food for thought: How many grown animals drink ANOTHER animal’s milk?
A small challenge: completely abstain from milk, cheese, yogurt, kefir, and any other dairy products/ingredients for 3 weeks. On day 22, have all the dairy your heart desires. Then, abstain for another three days and observe changes in your body. This is a food challenge (you can test your body in this way with any food you are curious about) to allow your body to tell you how it feels when you eat certain things. I would love to hear some of the results!
Resources:
Pitchford, Paul. “Healing with whole foods.” North Atlantic Books. Berkeley, CA. 2002
“Milk not best for strong bones, reports find.” MSNBC. 2005
Calcium: why is it not absorbable in the human body?
Fairweather-Tait, Susan, et al. Studies on calcium absorption from milk using a double-label
stable isotope technique. British Journal of Nutrition. 1989
