Calcium Rich Foods - Milk, Dairy, and Lessons From Our Paleolithic Ancestors

Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK, RHN

 

What Can We Learn From Our Paleolithic Ancestors About Calcium

The paleolithic period lasted roughly 2.5 million years ending about 10,000 years ago with the development of agriculture. Much interest and debate has developed out of the notion that our paleothic ancestors (who are evolutionarily identical to us modern humans) were mainly "hunters and gatherers" subsisting mainly on lean game meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, roots, and nuts. This paleolthic diet, as it where, also excluded grains, legumes, dairy products, salt, refined sugar, and processed oils.

It has also been noted that, although our cave man acestors' lives were much shorter than ours, they did not suffer from "diseases of affluence" such as heart disease, diabetes, or cancer. Because of this there has been on-going debate as to whether the paleolithic diet should be adopted by modern humans. Regardless of the answer, the idea is clear that more natural whole foods need to be consumed on a daily basis for optimal health and longevity.

What's interesting when looking at the research regarding our ancestor of this era is that they were not farmers and thus had no domesticated animals. And because they had no domesticated animals, they had no dairy foods. Yet, despite this, their calcium intake, in most cases, was far exceeded that generally consumed in the 20th century.

According to an extensive review of the literature which was published several years ago in The American Journal of Medicine, the calcium intake of our paleolithic ancestors hovered between 1,500-2,000 mg/day. Compare that to our current average consumption of 740 mg/ day and the fact that our current recommended calcium intake is between 800-1,300 mg/day!

That's quite a descrepancy. And they never even drank milk - go figure!

 

Pour the Milk Down the Drain - Try These Calcium Rich Foods Instead

To appreciate the following chart you need to keep in mind that cow’s milk provides 118 mg of calcium/100 g and that the daily recommended intake (depending on the authority) is between 800 – 1,300 mg of calcium/day. Therefore, to meet daily requirements and assuming that dairy is a balanced source of calcium (which it is not), you would need to consume at minimum 0.88 – 1.22 liters of 2% milk per day (considering 1 g of 2% milk = 1.1 ml)! That’s four to five 250 ml cups of milk per day. That’s insane!

As a rule ot thumb, green leafy vegetables are generally your best calcium rich foods. And it makes too. After all, where do cows get their food from? Grass! The grass is green and it contains huge amounts of calcium and tons of other helpful minerals.

Calcium Rich Food	mg of Calcium/100 g
Kelp	1,093
Dulse	296
Parsley	203
Turnip Greens	184
Watercress	151
Broccoli	130

One more note, eventhough green vegetables provide a great amount of calcium, sesame seeds are the #1 calcium food source providing a whopping 1,160 mg of calcium/100 g. So if you’re looking for a balanced source of calcium then look at having some more hummus (because of the sesame based tahini – see recipe below) and plenty of green vegetables

 

Calcium Rich Recipe

Straight from the pages of my book, Eating for Energy, I give you the following amazing calcium-rich recipe that can be enjoyed as a snack or a meal on its own. Enjoy!

Eating for Energy Hummus

This is a great dip for your favourite veggies. High in calcium, protein, and great in taste.

Makes about 4 cups

2 cups chickpeas, sprouted (you can even use sprouted lentils instead)
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup raw tahini (ground sesame)
Juice of 2 lemons
1 cup parsley, chopped
2-3 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt to taste
Pinch of paprika (for garnish)

1. In a food processor, pulse all ingredients until smooth and creamy.
2. Top with a pinch of paprika and serve.

 

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References:

Eaton, B. et al. (1988). Stone Agers in the Fast Lane: Chronic Degenerative Diseases in Evolutionary Perspective. The American Journal of Medicine, 84: 739-749.

 

 

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