Currently, what foods can supplement calcium is the most concerning topic for people. Experts introduce that calcium-supplementing foods mainly include dairy and dairy products, soy products, sesame paste, kelp, and more. But in fact, drinking milk or eating more soy products does not necessarily mean you are supplementing calcium. If the foods are not chosen correctly or not paired properly, not only will they fail to supplement calcium, but they may even affect your health.
Excessive flavor can lead to calcium loss. People all know that eating too salty is not good for the body, but few know that excessive salt intake increases the excretion of urinary calcium, affecting the retention of calcium in the body. Therefore, a calcium-supplementing diet should be light.
Bone soup cannot be used as a calcium-supplementing diet. Chinese people all believe that drinking more bone soup can supplement calcium, and it's especially good for children's growth. In fact, numerous studies have shown that bone soup does not contain much calcium. Adding vinegar during cooking can slightly increase the calcium in bone soup, but the amount is still low. Bone soup cannot be a source of calcium supplementation, but it contains many other beneficial nutrients for the human body, such as collagen, phospholipids, trace elements, etc.
High-protein diets affect calcium supplementation. Many people think that eating more fish and shrimp can supplement calcium, but in fact, the calcium content in fish and shrimp meat is extremely low. Unless you can eat the fish bones, shrimp shells, etc., together, it will not have the effect of supplementing calcium. On the contrary, fish and shrimp are both high-protein foods. Excessive protein intake will also increase the excretion of urinary calcium and affect the retention of calcium in the body. Therefore, when supplementing calcium, one should avoid high-protein foods, but can eat a small amount of dried small shrimp.
Calcium supplementation also requires a balanced diet. Many people worry that foods containing iron and calcium will interfere with each other when eaten together, so they dare not eat spinach with calcium-supplementing foods. In fact, the mutual interference between trace elements exists in in vitro experiments, but whether this is the case in the body has not been specifically studied. Moreover, one cannot refuse to eat iron-rich foods just for the sake of calcium supplementation, as the body also needs an appropriate amount of iron. Therefore, the most important thing is to have a balanced and varied diet.
Excessive supplementation is also not good. The Chinese Nutrition Society recommends a daily calcium supplement of 800 mg, with a maximum not exceeding 2000 mg. Eating too many calcium-supplementing foods not only fails to achieve the desired effect but may also lead to symptoms such as body swelling, loss of appetite, and nausea.