From filtered milk to chewy tablets – three products to boost your calcium intake
TODAY is World Osteoporosis Day.
The disease causes bones to become weak and more prone to breaking, and is more likely to occur in people who have low calcium intake.
Symptoms of low calcium include dry, scaly skin, brittle nails, coarse hair and cramping.
Calcium comes from dairy, nuts, leafy greens and fish, so here are some other ways to give your intake a boost.
FILTERED MILK
SUPERNUTRIO is a very clever new milk variety made by passing two litres of cow’s milk through smart filters to concentrate the protein and calcium into one litre.
In regular semi-skimmed you get around 124mg of calcium per 100ml, 47kcal and 3.6 per cent protein.
In SuperNutrio it is 220mg of calcium, 64kcal and seven per cent protein.
It tastes richer and creamier to normal semi-skimmed milk, but that is it.
It comes in whole, semi-skimmed and skimmed variants and is £2.49 RRP for a one litre carton.
CHEWY TABLETS
HEALTHSPAN Calcium & Vitamin D are lovely chewable vanilla flavoured tablets that pack in a lot.
They contain 400mg calcium per tablet, which is half of your recommended daily amount, all of your recommended Vitamin D3 and 40 per cent of vitamin K1, which both also help to maintain bone health.
To fully absorb and utilise calcium, we need Vitamin D. Vitamin D is found in small amounts in food, but the majority (90 per cent) is made by the body on exposure to sunlight.
Public Health England recommends everyone takes vitamin D supplements during autumn and winter.
This supplement is for everyone, but ideal for women over 50. You take three tablets a day.
240 tablets cost £13.49, healthspan.co.uk
MINERAL POWDER
ALL you need is one teaspoon of Viridian Calcium Magnesium Zinc Powder to get these three great minerals, which all contribute to the maintenance of normal bones.
There is 400mg of calcium, which is 50 per cent of your NRV, 300mg magnesium (80 per cent of your NRV) and 500mg of vitamin C – a huge six times the recommended amount, although you can take more than this.
It also contains malic acid from fruit and vegetables for optimum absorption.
All you do is mix it with water or juice and the powder is easily absorbed – no need to break down pills or capsules.
A great idea, you can easily adjust the serving size as needed and there are no binders or fillers.
£12.15 for 100g, viridian-nutrition.com