1. Use fermented bean paste instead of salt
Fermentation can reduce anti-nutrients in food that hinder calcium absorption, such as phytic acid, thereby increasing the absorption rate of calcium. Therefore, it is more beneficial for calcium absorption than large flatbreads.
In addition, after soybeans are fermented, their calcium absorption rate can also increase. Therefore, using fermented black beans, bean paste, or milk instead of salt to stew or steam dishes can increase the total amount of calcium in your diet and improve its absorption rate.
Finally, replacing salad dressing with calcium-rich ingredients in salads or fruit platters is also a good method.
2. Vitamin D-rich foods help with absorption
During the calcium absorption process, consuming it with foods rich in vitamin D can also promote calcium absorption and utilization.
Foods rich in vitamin D include fatty fish, animal liver, egg yolks, and cheese. Pairing these with calcium-rich foods can increase the utilization of calcium, such as in fish stewed with tofu.
3. Blanch to remove oxalic acid
Oxalic acid and phytic acid in food will bind with calcium to form calcium salts, which is not conducive to human absorption of calcium and significantly reduces the absorption rate. Therefore, when eating vegetables high in these "interference factors," such as spinach, toon sprouts, bamboo shoots, and water bamboo, it is best to blanch them in water first.
This allows the oxalic acid to dissolve in the water, removing about 80% of it, which naturally reduces the formation of calcium oxalate and increases calcium absorption.
4. Use stewing to dissolve calcium
Using the stewing method can dissolve calcium into the soup, which is beneficial for calcium absorption. For example, slowly stewing fish soup or pork rib soup can promote the dissolution of calcium from the fish meat into the soup, making the calcium in the fish soup easier for the gastrointestinal tract to absorb.
5. A little vinegar for better absorption
The acetic acid in vinegar can dissolve inorganic calcium salts into calcium acetate, thereby increasing the content of calcium ions in the dish and making it easier for the human body to absorb. At the same time, adding vinegar can also better preserve other nutrients like vitamin C, and it allows for better calcium absorption.
6. A pressure cooker makes calcium "tender"
If you use a pressure cooker to cook fish and shrimp, it can cook the fish bones and shrimp shells until they are tender, making the normally hard-to-eat fish bones and shells easy to swallow, and it can also increase the intake and absorption rate of calcium.
7. For more calcium in pork rib soup, don't add salt
Pork rib soup is mellow, rich, warm, and nourishing, making it the best comfort for your family as the weather turns cold. However, experts remind that if you want to achieve the effect of strengthening the body and supplementing calcium through pork rib soup, you should use less or no salt.
Many people find their calcium supplementation ineffective because they consume too much salt. Research has found: the more salt you consume, the more calcium is excreted in the urine, and the poorer the calcium absorption. It can be said that a high-sodium diet is a major killer of calcium supplementation.