Calcium

How much calcium is enough? We will give you an overview of the recommended daily amounts and a rough idea of how much calcium you consume per day.

You can also use our online calcium calculator to find out roughly how much calcium you are getting per day. Click here to try it out. The calculator is not suitable for children or women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

It is generally recommended that adults should consume 1,000 milligrammes (mg) of calcium per day. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), women after menopause and men who are older than 65 need a higher daily calcium intake of 1,300 mg.

There are special recommendations for children, pregnant women and breastfeeding women. It is believed that pregnant women need up to 1,200 mg per day, and women who are breastfeeding need between 1,000 and 1,200 mg per day. The daily calcium requirements of children depend on their age, ranging from between 220 and 300 mg for babies and up to 1,300 mg for teenagers.

A calcium-rich diet can provide us with enough calcium to get to the recommended level. Particularly good sources of calcium include cow's milk, yoghurt, cheeses like gouda and emmental cheese, green vegetables such as spinach leaves and broccoli, as well as calcium-rich mineral water (more than 150 mg calcium per litre). Dairy products made from low-fat cow's milk have a lot of calcium in them too. Some food products, such as certain breakfast cereals and juices, are fortified with calcium. And there are dietary supplements containing calcium too.

Some people are afraid of unintentionally consuming too much calcium, but up to 2,500 mg per day is okay. If you consume a lot more than that, you are not doing yourself any favours. In fact, there is some evidence that a calcium intake far above the upper limit of 2500 mg per day can increase the risk of, for example, kidney stones. You can read more about that in our fact sheet.

To give you an idea of how you can cover your calcium requirements with the right diet, here are a few examples:

There are 1,000 mg of calcium in:

2 slices of rye bread or whole grain bread
+ 2 slices of gouda, edam or emmental cheese
+ 1 serving of broccoli
+ 2 glasses of mineral water
+ 1 pot of yoghurt (200 g)

or

2 glasses of milk (200 ml each)
+ 2 slices of rye bread or whole grain bread
+ 2 servings of camembert cheese
+ 1 serving of spinach leaves

or

1 pot of yoghurt (200 g)
+ 1 serving of muesli (50 g)
+ with milk (100 ml)
+ 1 slice of rye bread or whole grain bread
+ 1 slice of gouda, edam or emmental cheese
+ 1 serving of green cabbage
+ 1 glass of mineral water

There are 1,300 mg of calcium in:

1 big pot of yoghurt (500 g) or half a litre of milk
+ 2 slices of rye bread or whole grain bread
+ 2 slices of gouda, edam or emmental cheese
+ 1 serving of spinach leaves or green cabbage
+ 1 glass of mineral water


If you do not drink cow's milk or eat dairy products made from cow's milk, it will be considerably more difficult for you to get enough calcium in your diet. In that case, suitable sources of calcium would include green vegetables like spinach leaves, green cabbage, fennel and broccoli, as well as soy milk, nuts, calcium-rich mineral water and food products that are fortified with calcium.

This table can help you to calculate roughly how much calcium you get in a typical day:

Food product	Serving size	Calcium in mg/serving
Cow's milk and dairy products made from cow's milk
Cow's milk, Kefir	200 ml (1 glass)	240
Yoghurt	200 ml (1 pot)	260
Gouda or edam cheese	30 g (1 slice)	240
Emmental or alpine cheese	30 g (1 slice)	330
Camembert cheese	30 g	150
Parmesan cheese	30 g	360
Brie cheese	30 g	84
Sheep's cheese, Feta cheese	30 g	135
Vegetables
Broccoli (cooked)	110	123
Spinach leaves (cooked)	210 g	313
Green cabbage (cooked)	160 g	283
Bread, muesli
Rye bread, whole grain bread	1 slice	10
Muesli	50 g	25.5
Breakfast cereals	50 g	80
Drinks
Natural mineral water	200 ml	70
Soy milk	200 ml	212

For example, one pot of yoghurt (200 ml) contains about 260 mg calcium and one serving of cooked spinach contains about 313 g calcium.

Please note that this table only includes food products that have a particularly large amount of calcium in them. A lot of other food products contain calcium too and contribute to your total calcium intake, but usually to a lesser extent.

Dietary supplements are not included in the table. If you are taking a supplement that contains calcium, that will increase your calcium intake accordingly.

If you are finding it hard to get enough calcium in your diet, calcium supplements could be an option. In our fact sheet on dietary supplements and complementary medicines, you can read about important things to take into account if you are considering taking a dietary supplement.


Author: German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) in cooperation with the Robert Koch Institute

© IQWiG (Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care) Last update of this website: 03/13/2010