Your body needs calcium for a number of things, and one of the easiest ways to get calcium is through your diet. There is some debate about the safety and bioavailability of calcium supplements, and that’s why more people are turning to food-based supplements and diet to get the calcium their bodies require. Calcium is essential for excellent bone health into old age. Your heart and nerves need calcium to function well, as well. There are even some studies that suggest calcium, in conjunction with vitamin D, can protect against diabetes, cancer, and high blood pressure. Unless you’re a farmer who spends a lot of time in the sun and drinks cow’s milk every day, you might be deficient in calcium and vitamin D (our bodies synthesize vitamin D from sunlight). Ok, we’re getting off track here. The bottom line is that you need sufficient calcium in your diet. If you don’t get enough calcium as a child, you might not reach your full height, and you could have low bone mass as an adult. Your body doesn’t make calcium, so you’ve got to get it through diet.
1. Raw Milk
Raw milk is really high in calcium. Cow milk, goat milk, sheep milk, and more have high amounts of calcium, because calcium is needed for bone growth and development, and their milk would have otherwise gone to their growing babies. You can get all that good calcium by just browsing the dairy section of your local grocery or health food store. You can even get milk directly from the farmer by looking online or in local health food magazines for farmers that are willing to sell milk directly to people. You can also eat a variety of dairy products if you don’t like the taste of plain milk.
