The healthiest way to get the calcium you need for bone health

In 2020, gold medal swimmer Katie Ledecky swam across an Olympic pool with a glass of chocolate milk on top of her head. While it proved that she has astounding muscle control, it didn’t do much for her intake of calcium. That, it turns out, is best accomplished by eating calcium-rich foods.

There are three problems with getting your calcium from supplements.

1. Calcium taken in through supplements isn’t processed in the body like calcium in natural food sources.

2. The data on calcium supplements fortifying bone strength is not iron clad. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, “there is a growing body of evidence that suggests no health benefit, or even worse, that calcium supplements may be harmful.”

3. Studies show high doses of calcium supplements may increases the risk of colon polyps (a potential cancer risk), encourage kidney stones, and may cause plaque build-up, increasing the risk for heart attack.

You can get bone-building, heart-friendly calcium from low or non-fat dairy such as yogurt; canned sardines and salmon with bones; almonds; oranges, dried figs; soybeans and garbanzo, white and pinto beans; and leafy green vegetables like spinach.

FYI: Plant foods have more bioavailable calcium than dairy. One cup of cooked bok choy has almost as much bioavailable calcium as one cup of milk.

When you combine dietary calcium with exercise such as jumping on a hard surface (40 jumps a day is all it takes), walking and strength-building, you’re defending yourself from osteoporosis, without the potential risks associated with calcium supplements.