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10 Vegetables That Are High In Calcium

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Most people are probably aware that they need to include calcium in their diet. In fact, adults need about 1,000 mg of calcium per day.

What most people think of when they think of a high-calcium food is usually milk, cream, butter, cheese, and other dairy products. These are indeed quite high in calcium and many doctors even suggest consuming plenty of dairy products.

However, many people are lactose intolerant. Others may be on diets that preclude milk and such foods. Still others have chosen to follow a vegan lifestyle, which means that they don’t consume dairy products at all.

Thankfully, there are many vegetables and fruits that contain calcium. If sufficient quantities are added to the diet, it is often unnecessary to take calcium supplements.

What are some of the calcium-rich plants? Here are some of them. Which do you commonly include in your diet?

#1 Sweet potatoes

If you like sweet potatoes, you like a calcium-rich vegetable. A cup of sweet potatoes has 180 calories, but it also has 76 mg of calcium. For that matter, it is also high in iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, manganese, and vitamins A, C, B6, thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin. This is a high carb vegetable, however.

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#5 Spinach

Few people would be surprised to find out that spinach is good for them. This is common knowledge. From the time of the Popeye cartoons, people have known that spinach is high in iron. As it happens, it is also one of the best sources of calcium among vegetables. A one-cup serving supplies about 30 mg of calcium. Not bad for a vegetable that only has 7 calories per cup.

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#6 Carrots

Best known for being vitamin A powerhouses, carrots are also high in calcium. A single medium-sized carrot has 20 mg of calcium.

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#8 Globe artichokes

Globe artichokes are packed with vitamins and minerals. A medium-sized artichoke contains a little more than 25 mg of calcium. It also has a very large amount of dietary fiber.

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  2. When I lived in the states I remember these jarred really delicious marinated artichokes I would always eat. Here you cannot get anything like that and if you find artichokes they are expensive.

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    • Artichokes are easy to grow, but they do need to have a cool winter so they can become dormant for a while. My guess would be that those that you do get are probably imported.

#9 Green beans

High in Omega-3 fatty acids, green beans are also a good source of iron, magnesium, potassium, and calcium. A cup of green beans has about 41 mg of calcium.

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    • I love green beans with bacon, too. I figured on having a very large crop of green beans last year, but apparently, the deer loved them even more than I did.

#10 Watercress

A lot of people love the peppery flavor that watercress adds to salads and soups. This is also a great source of calcium. There is about 41 mg of calcium in every cupful.

These are only 10 of many edible plants that contain lots of calcium. The calcium isn't in the huge amounts that milk contains, but it still can go a long way to make sure you get at least 1,000 mg of calcium each day.

Which do you especially like?

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Written by Rex Trulove

9 Comments

  2. Great post….good to know. Yes calcium is very important…just like sodium, potassium, and magnesium. I think I will stick with getting it from spinach (vegetable wise). Right now I get most of mine from cheese lol

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    • My wife has osteoporosis so she has to consume high levels of calcium every day. Between the three of us, we go through a gallon of milk every 2-3 days and about 2 pounds of cheese, or more, per week. We eat quite a few of the high calcium vegetables, though that is mostly because we like them. The extra calcium is just an added benefit. :))

      My wife still takes daily supplements, though, because of the osteoporosis.

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      • Thank you for sharing….that would be tough…but that’s good to eat lots of good foods with calcium. That’s very helpful!!
        That’s great that you both like the high calcium veggies…I wish I could!

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  3. Every time I try to upvote and comment on these types of posts, I get an error message. Have to log out, clear cache and cookies and then log back in. So I will return.

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