Step 6:
Decrease or eliminate animal-based products in your diet. High intake of animal-based proteins causes increased amounts of calcium to be excreted in your urine. A high intake of sodium is another culprit.

Step 7:
Choose your supplements wisely. The best balance of price, percentage of elemental calcium, and absorption would probably be calcium citrate. The absorption is 30 to 35 percent, and the citric acid reduces the amount of stomach acids required for absorption. For most people, calcium citrate would be the most reasonable way to go.

Step 8:
One obvious way to get calcium without supplements is to make sure you include plenty of calcium-rich foods in your diet, such as cabbage, kale, yellow, green, or waxed beans, and salmon.

Step 9:
Because calcium is not found in nature (in edible form) without magnesium, add it to your diet as well. Foods that are high in magnesium include leafy green vegetables, whole grains, bananas, apricots, meat, beans, and nuts.

Step 10:
Combine calcium with magnesium in a 2-1 ratio – two parts calcium to one part magnesium.

Step 1:
Avoid taking iron and calcium together. It reduces the efficacy of both minerals.

Step 2:
Avoid taking large doses of zinc with calcium. At high doses, zinc can interfere with calcium absorption.

Step 3:
Add Vitamin D to your diet, to also help absorption. Fortunately, it is present in most dairy products.

Step 4:
Add Vitamin C to your diet, to also help absorption. Fortunately, it is present in many fruits, and you can buy fortified orange juice now too.

Step 5:
Decrease or eliminate soft drinks from your diet. They are high in phosphorus, which can cause you to lose calcium. High phosphorus intake can lead to calcium excretion in your urine.

10. You may read that vegans run the risk of calcium deficiency because the calcium in vegetables, like iron, is bound by the fibers and phytates (mineral-building chemicals in plants) in the vegetables and may interfere with calcium absorption.
This theoretical worry may be balanced out by the lower phosphate content of vegetables.  Phosphates interfere with calcium absorption, but this is not an issue with most vegetables apart from corn.  Also, that most people have the enzyme phytase in their stomachs, which breaks down the phytic acid in vegetables and allows the calcium to get through.

11. Ignore what you read about losing bone mass while breastfeeding. After weaning, breastfeeding mothers regain any bone mass they may have lost. Some even get a perk by regaining more.

12. Lack of exercise may contribute as much, or more, to osteoporosis than lack of calcium. Weight-bearing exercise (just about any exercise except swimming or cycling) not only builds muscle, it builds bone.

7. High-fiber diets can interfere with calcium absorption, so it is best not to mix a high fiber meal with a high calcium one. If you do mix them, boost your calcium as you increase your fiber. Some fiber tablets have calcium in them-this is pointless and too expensive.
8. The presence of estrogen facilitates calcium absorption, so women after menopause are at increased risk of calcium deficiency, and therefore need to increase their daily intake of calcium.

9. The calcium-to-phosphorus ratio of a food or supplement determines how much of the calcium is absorbed. The ideal calcium-phosphorus ratio is 2 to 1, close to the proportion found in human milk, which has an almost perfect calcium-to- phosphorus ratio of 2.3 to 1. The ratio in cow’s milk is 1.3 to 1.
The higher the phosphorus content of the food, the more calcium is excreted in the urine, leading to a loss of calcium. Foods high in phosphorus (such as meat, poultry, corn, potatoes, beer, and buckwheat, and soda) can interfere with calcium absorption.

3. Calcium is best absorbed when taken in smaller amounts more frequently and with meals. For example, your body absorbs more calcium if you take one 250 milligram tablet twice a day rather than one 500 milligram tablet once a day. If a higher dose calcium tablet is a better buy, break it in half. Many scientists are also discovering that the time of day you take a pill can also often affect absorption.

4. Dairy products are a rich source of calcium, and lactose, the sugar contained in milk, facilitates calcium absorption.
However, chocolate milk is NOT a good source of calcium. It may taste yummy and be easier to swallow, but chocolate contains calcium-binding oxalates, it can interfere with calcium absorption.

5. Soft drinks that contain citric and phosphoric acid can decrease the absorption of calcium. A 12-ounce cola may rob the body of 100 milligrams of calcium. Try to cut down on soda drinking in your house, opting for calciu rich dairy based smoothies instead.

6. Vitamin C improves the absorption of calcium, which is why calcium-fortified orange juice makes sense.

Various factors affect how much of the calcium you consume really gets into your blood and is utilized by the body.

Here are some things to take into considertation to make the most of the calcium in your diet or any calcium supplements you take:

1. Stress from tension and worry can decrease calcium absorption. The calcium in the diet is excreted in the urine rather than used or stored.

2. Labels on calcium supplements can be misleading. The figure that is important is the amount of elemental calcium provided by the supplement. This is the actual amount of useable calcium.
The rest of the calcium in the tablet is coupled with a salt that makes it unavailable to the body. For example, calcium glutamate is only 9 percent elemental calcium. A 500 milligram tablet of calcium glutamate may contain only 45 milligrams of elemental calcium, even though you may have been led to believe that you are taking 500 milligrams of calcium.
Calcium carbonate, on the other hand, is 40 percent elemental calcium; 500 milligrams of calcium carbonate would provide 200 milligrams of useable calcium.
Labels on some supplements make this distinction, listing both the type of calcium compound in the supplement and the amount of elemental calcium provided. Other products are not as carefully labeled. Read labels carefully and compare several brands when you shop. Also look at the price. Just because it is more expensive does not mean it is better for you.

Best Dairy Sources of Calcium    mg.
Yogurt, nonfat, plain (1 cup)     450
Yogurt, lowfat, plain (1 cup)     400
Yogurt, nonfat, fruit (1 cup)     300
Parmesan cheese (1 ounce)     336
Milk, lowfat (1 cup)     300
Romano cheese (1 ounce)     302
Cheddar cheese (1 ounce)     200
Cottage cheese (1 cup)     155

Best Non-Dairy Sources  of Calcium    mg.
Sardines (3 oz)     371
Orange juice, calcium-fortified (1 cup)     300
Sesame seeds (1 ounce)     280
Tofu (3 oz)     190
Salmon (3 oz, canned)     180
Collard greens (1/2 cup, chopped)     180
Rhubarb (1/2 cup)     174
Blackstrap molasses (1 tbsp.)     172
Amaranth flour (1/2 cup)     150
Spinach (1/2 cup, canned)     136
Figs (5)     135
Artichoke (1 med.)     135
Soybean nuts (1/4 cup)     116
Turnip greens (1/2 cup, chopped)     100
Cereal, calcium-fortified (1/2 cup)     100-200
Kale (1/2 cup, chopped)     90
Almond butter (2 tbsp.)     86
Beet greens (1/2 cup, boiled)     82
Almonds (1 ounce)     80
Bok Choy (Chinese cabbage) (1/2 cup)     79
Okra (1/2 cup)     77
Tempeh (1/2 cup)     77
Beans (1/2 cup, baked)     75
Papaya (1 medium)     73
Orange (1 medium)     50
Broccoli (1/2 cup, chopped)     47

While the body at any age needs calcium, there are stages in a person’s life when calcium requirements increase.
Here are the daily requirements at various stages in your life:

* Pregnancy: 1,500-2,000 mg. a day
* Lactation: 1,200-1,500 mg. a day
* Infants (birth to one year): 400 to 600 mg.
* Children (1 to 10): 800 mg.
* Preteens and teens: 1,200-1,500 mg.
* Adults: 1,200 mg.
* Seniors: 1,500 mg. a day

The first checkpoint is in the intestines. If you eat too much calcium, or already have enough calcium in your blood, the intestines simply absorb less of the calcium in the food you eat. If your body needs calcium, the intestines absorb more.

Bones are the second checkpoint. If you don’t get enough calcium in your diet, your body may borrow what it needs from your bones. This works for a time, yet continuing withdrawals of calcium from the bone bank can lead to  osteopenia and osteoporosis.
A hormone called parathyroid oversees all this calcium activity like a vigilant bank manager, keeping the calcium concentration just right. When your calcium levels fall, this hormone stimulates vitamin D to increase absorption of calcium from the intestines, and to release calcium from the bone bank until a proper balance is restored.
It is an efficient system, but even if you are eating a fair amount of calcium, there are some other factors in your diet and lifestyle which can interfere with the calcium you consume being utilized by your body. We will deal with these factors in a later section of this article.

Besides promoting healthy tooth enamel, calcium helps muscles. Muscles can cramp, and heart muscles can even FAIL, if these muscles are not supplied with just the right amount of calcium.

Nerve impulses, the transmission of information between nerve fibers, will not function properly without just the right amount of calcium.
For example, muscles twitch (called tetany) when the calcium supply to neuromuscular cells is insufficient.

Calcium is one of the most vital minerals for optimal functioning of your entire body, so you need to eat a balanced diet a la the food pyramid every day in order to get enough calcium and other vitamins and minerals in your diet.