Calcium, Vitamin D and Osteoporosis – Osteoporosis Australia
How much calcium and vitamin D do you need?
Calcium
Dairy products are a good source of calcium. There are also small amounts in other foods including breads, cereals, fruits and vegetables, fish with edible bones (e.g. tinned salmon and sardines), tahini, almonds, figs and foods fortified with calcium. If you find it difficult to get enough calcium from food ask your doctor or dietitian about taking a calcium supplement.
If you can’t tolerate dairy products or don’t enjoy them, there are some calciumenriched products available such as calcium-enriched orange juice, cereals and soy milk. However calcium added to soy drinks may not be as well absorbed as from dairy foods, so you may need larger servings of soy drinks.
People need different amounts of calcium at different ages – the food table at the end of this fact sheet shows you how to get calcium from food.