Today we are going to talk about a mineral that is extremely important for our body but sometimes goes unnoticed in relation to vegetable consumption, as it is traditionally associated with dairy.
This mineral is calcium, crucial for the formation and optimal maintenance of our bones. In fact, its intake becomes even more important with age, as bone health tends to be more delicate in advanced stages of life.
Therefore, bone tissue loss can become a real health problem over time, potentially causing issues such as osteoporosis, a condition that weakens our bones, making them more prone to fractures and other injuries.
Here we find the main benefit associated with broccoli consumption due to the presence of calcium, preventing osteoporosis and other conditions related to a calcium deficiency, such as osteomalacia, which softens our bones.
Calcium is absorbed thanks to vitamin D
In addition to calcium, it is important to consume adequate vitamin D to keep bones healthy and reduce the risk of bone weakness, as vitamin D is responsible for helping us absorb calcium in our bodies.
This is why many products found in supermarkets are fortified with vitamin D, such as many milks and plant-based beverages, for example. They are often ideal foods for supplementing with vitamin D, as it is a fat-soluble vitamin, which means it can be stored in a fatty environment.
Therefore, a recipe that includes broccoli along with fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, or mackerel, which are rich in vitamin D, will be an ideal combination to ensure the proper intake of both calcium and vitamin D.
On the other hand, the simplest way to obtain vitamin D is through sun exposure. It is estimated that with about 30 minutes of sunlight per day, we can obtain all the necessary vitamin D for our body.
Calcium beyond dairy
As we mentioned earlier, in addition to dairy, there is a wide range of vegetables rich in calcium that perfectly meet the needs of this micronutrient.
The main alternatives to dairy in terms of calcium consumption are green leafy vegetables such as broccoli, chard, and Brussels sprouts, as well as legumes, seeds, and nuts such as chickpeas, sesame, and almonds, respectively.
Approximately, the total amount of calcium that adults need daily from food — known as the recommended daily intake (RDI) — is between 1000 and 1200 mg in healthy adults.
Specifically, from around the age of 70, a daily intake of 1200 mg of calcium is recommended, slightly higher, to compensate for the bone fragility to which we are more prone in old age.The benefits of calcium in broccoli.