Did you know adults at or over the age of 51 need 1,200 milligrams of Calcium per day? Here are ten tips to help increase the amount of calcium in your diet.

1.  Purchase and eat foods labeled “high,” “rich in,” “excellent source,” or “good source” of calcium.

2.  Eat or drink 3 servings of reduced-fat milk products daily.

3.  Use reduced fat cheeses as toppings and snacks.

4.  Add reduced-fat milk to your coffee or tea.

5.  Substitute reduced fat yogurt or milk for water in pancakes.

6.  Use reduced-fat yogurt in place of mayonnaise in salad dressings and dips.

7.  Fortify your foods with calcium by adding nonfat powdered milk to a variety of foods such as meat loaf, sauces, gravies, soups, stuffing, casseroles, blended beverages, puddings, breads, cookies, brownies, mashed potatoes, cooked cereal, and scrambled eggs.

8.  Eat more vegetables that are good sources of calcium such as beets, and mustard or turnip greens.

9.  Use calcium fortified tofu in meatloaf, lasagna and desserts to replace all or part of the meat or cheese.

10.  Buy products fortified with calcium.  Orange juice and breakfast cereals or bars are easy to find calcium fortified products.

The amount of calcium in any food product can be found by looking at the Nutrition Facts panel on the product packaging.  Use the Percent Daily Value listed on the Nutrition Facts panel of a food label to find the milligrams of calcium per serving.  To find the milligrams of calcium in a standard serving of a food, drop the % sign from the Percent Daily Value for calcium and add a zero.  For example: 40% Daily Value = 400 mg.  This is the amount of calcium in an 8 ounce serving of Vanilla Lowfat Yogurt.  Note: this formula only works with calcium.

About the author:  Lisa Mapel is an Extension Program Assistant and Better Living for Texans educator with the Brown County AgriLife Extension office.  Lisa may be reached at 325.646.0386.