Soy milk drinkers. If you drink a typical calcium-fortified soy milk, you absorb 25% less of the calcium than you would if you drank cow’s milk, according to tests performed at Creighton University in Omaha, NE. What to do? To get as much calcium as a glass of milk (300 mg), drink enough soy milk to give you 500 mg of calcium, says study author Robert Heaney, MD, an international calcium expert.
High-fiber, low-fat eaters. If you follow high-fiber, low-fat diets, you may be absorbing 19% less calcium than someone whose meals are cheeseburgers and fries. What’s going on? Could be that healthy diets speed food through your gastrointestinal tract, so there’s less time for calcium to be absorbed, says Dr. Heaney.
This study is a heads up for healthy eaters to make extra certain that they meet their daily calcium intake goals, says Dr. Heaney. That’s 1,000 mg under age 50 and 1,200 mg at 50-plus. And don’t even think about giving up your low-fat diets! More from Prevention: 12 Ways To Break-Proof Your Bones For Life
