You probably know by now that calcium is vital to your health: It can help strengthen your bones and teeth, keep your gums healthy and lower your risk of colon and breast cancer. But did you know that where you get that calcium from makes a difference?
Supplements and Superfoods
A recent report from New Zealand linked calcium supplements to heart attack risks. This may sound like bad news if you’re averse to dairy, but there’s another less-known source for calcium: leafy greens. With farmers markets brimming with fresh-picked vegetables this season, your choices of calcium-packed greens are essentially endless.
Which greens should you choose? While most nutrition charts indicate that all leafy greens in general are good sources of calcium, not all of that calcium is available for the body to use. In spinach, for example, calcium is bound tightly to another compound called “oxalate.” Because the body is unable to break the two apart, most of the calcium goes to waste. The same goes for the calcium in Swiss chard and collard greens.
On the other hand, the calcium in kale is absorbed just as well as the calcium in milk. One cup of cooked kale provides almost 100 milligrams of calcium. Try this super-easy recipe for a calcium boost at your next meal.
Wilted Kale With Onions
1 pound kale, cleaned and chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1. Wash the greens well to remove all grit; remove stems and chop.
2. Heat the skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and sliced onions. Sautee onions until translucent.
3. Add the wet kale a little at a time, stirring after each addition.
4. Cover and allow the kale to wilt for about 5 minutes.
5. Remove the lid and continue cooking over high heat until all the liquid evaporates.
6. Season with salt and paper to taste.
Bonus Tip: Knowing kale’s powerful benefits, should you now skip most other veggies? No. Your body needs nutrients from a variety of vegetables. So even though spinach may not be as good a source of calcium as kale, it still has important vitamins that kale doesn’t. For best results, always add a variety of vegetables to your diet: You’ll stay healthy -- and be much less likely to get tired of eating vegetables.
Photo: @iStockphoto.com/hjalmeida
