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Being the most abundant mineral in the body, calcium has many hats to wear 🤠 below are some highlights I want to share with you ASAP! Majority of calcium can be found in the bones & teeth.
What are the functions of calcium in the body?
Skeletal:
- Grows healthy skeleton in early life
- Minimizes bone loss later in life
Body Fluids (blood, serum, water, etc.):
- Helps to maintain normal blood pressure. We want to maintain steady BP to avoid cardiovascular disorders, and ensure the heart continues pumping blood to all our organs so we can breathe and continue livin’!
- Participates in blood clotting, which is the body's key way to fight infections - even just when you simply cut your finger!
- Regulation of muscle contraction. Whether working out, raising your finger to flip off a bad driver next to you, or blinking your eyes, your body is constantly contracting its muscles!
- Secretion of hormones. We will touch on hormones in a later email topic, but they are the behind-the-scenes MVP’s of communication between all cells.
What are good food sources of calcium?
In addition to the recipes I've provided below, the following foods are great sources of calcium. Try sneaking broccoli or tofu into a 10-minute easy peasy dinner bowl. Or even milk products, like Greek yogurt, into your smoothies. Cottage Cheese can be made sweet, with blueberries & honey, or savory, with cucumber and hot sauce!
- Broccoli
- Bok choy
- Milk products (i.e.: milk, plain Greek yogurt, cottage cheese)
- Whey Protein
- Tofu
- Beans & Lentils
