The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for calcium for children and adolescents is 1300 mg of calcium per day, ideally supplied by calcium-rich or calcium-fortified foods. Calcium supplements can be considered for children and adolescents who have very low intakes of dietary calcium.
However, it is preferable to achieve intake of calcium via diet, because diet would also provide multiple nutrients that are important for bone health in addition to calcium, including phosphorus and magnesium. Human body absorbs the calcium in dairy products more easily than that from plant sources. A daily consumption of Milk and Milk Products of approximately 500 gm(total) would take care of 50 % of RDA for calcium, while rest comes from other dietary sources.
Calcium Rich foods commonly available in India
| Portion size | Elemental Calcium | |
| Milk Cow’s | 100 ml | 120 mg |
| Milk Buffalo’s | 100 ml | 195 mg |
| Sesame seeds (Til) | 9 gm(1 table spoon) | 90 mg |
| Poppy seeds (Khaskhas) | 9 gm(1 table spoon) | 125 mg |
| White Beans(Lobhia) | 180 gm(1 cup) | 125 mg |
| Almonds | 1 ounce(22 nuts) | 80 mg |
| Amaranth Leaves(Cholai) | 130 gm (1 cup) | 280 mg |
| Amaranth grains | 250 gm (1 cup) | 115 mg |
| Tofu(Coagulated Soy milk) | 125 gm(1/2 cup) | 850 mg |
| Edamame (Young soyabeans) | 150 gm (1 cup) | 100 mg |
| Egg | 100 gm | 60 mg |
| Calcium Rich Fruits | ||
| Dried Figs (Anjeer) | Per dried fig ring | 13 mg |
| Oranges | Per orange | 43 mg |
| Kiwi | 100 gm | 34 mg |
| Dates | Per date | 15 mg |
Pediatric Practice... Pearls for your Pediatric Office Practice 