Calcium is essential to maintaining bone health. Calcium plays an important role in many body functions and development. The major function of calcium is to work in conjunction with magnesium and phosphorus for building and maintaining strong bones. Calcium and bone health go hand-in-hand. Calcium is beneficial to bones and teeth. It is also important to keep your muscles and nerves working properly.

When the calcium level in our blood is low, our body will start taking calcium from our bones. If the calcium is not replaced through your diet the bones become deficient in calcium and this can lead to bone loss. So making simple choices when buying foods with added calcium can help you to make sure you are getting enough calcium daily.

The daily requirement of calcium varies significantly during our life time. The growing phase during the childhood obviously needs more calcium than the younger phase. Requirements of calcium for young children and adolescents range from 800 mg to 1500 mg daily. Most adults need between 1,000 and 1,500 milligrams (mg) of calcium every day. Pregnant and breast feeding mother should get 1,400mg a day.

To get a good daily intake of calcium diet choices are important. Various foods are rich in calcium and can be included in your diet such as green leafy vegetables almonds, oranges, buttermilk, cream, cheese, yogurt, oats, kelp, cooked beans and sunflower. There are herbs which are known to be high in calcium. Fruits like raw apricots, figs, currants, and oranges are also good sources of calcium.