Vegetable sources of calcium include Chinese cabbage, kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, watercress, broccoli, chickpeas, tofu with calcium, and fortified milks or vegetable juices. Tofu, tempeh, and edamame are excellent sources of vegan calcium. Optimal calcium intake varies at different ages, being higher during adolescence and old age. The United States Institute of Medicine sets recommendations for calcium at 1300 mg.
For people aged nine to eighteen, 1000 mg for adults and 1200 mg for women over fifty and men over seventy. These numbers are probably not exactly correct, but they are the best estimates we currently have. Therefore, it is advisable to plan your diet to comply with these recommendations. While the list of plant foods that contain calcium is long, Hassing offers some of the best sources for vegans.
This is especially likely if you don't make the effort to add calcium-rich vegan foods to replace the dairy products you've stopped eating. Calcium, needed for strong bones, is found in dark green leafy vegetables, tofu made with calcium sulfate, calcium-fortified soy milk and orange juice, and many other foods commonly consumed by vegans. By choosing the suggested amount of daily servings of calcium-rich foods, vegans should meet their calcium needs. With many calcium-rich vegan foods, the limiting factor on how much you would like to eat in a day is not related to the calorie content, but to the volume of these foods.
