Women’s Health Newsflash: The Importance of Consuming Enough Calcium during Pregnancy
Usually I talk about natural herbs, tonics, and herbal remedies. Calcium, while not an herb—calcium is a mineral—is still one of my favorite topics when discussing women ‘ health and pregnancy. You can’t very well talk about red raspberry leaf tea or nettle tea without talking about the importance of calcium.
According to most women’s health professionals, pregnant women need to consume about 1000-2000 mg of calcium per day. Most women who do not get enough calcium during pregnancy will experience muscle cramping, preeclampsia, tooth problems, osteoporosis, difficult labor, backache, and high blood pressure. Pregnancy is hard enough without additional problems…so get your calcium requirements every day!
The good thing about calcium is that it’s pretty easy to accumulate the calcium you need throughout the day.
Here are some traditional, as well as less traditional, sources of calcium that are safe to consume during pregnancy:
- Obviously milk, cheese, yogurt, and other dairy products contain high amounts of calcium and are extremely important to eat/drink during pregnancy.
- Fish, particularly salmon, sardines, and mackerel.
- Seaweed (kelp), tahini, and sesame salt (gomasio).
- Dark leafy greens (kale, collards, turnip greens, etc.).
- Wild greens like shepherd’s purse, galinsoga, mallow, amaranth, bidens, and dandelion leaves—these actually contain more calcium per 100 grams than milk!
- Dried figs, prunes, dates, and elderberries.
- Fresh parsley.
- Watercress.
- Carob powder.
- Nuts.
- Raspberry leaf tea and nettle infusion teas.
Note: Most calcium supplements are fine to take during pregnancy, but some, like oyster shell tablets or bone meal are NOT RECOMMENDED. There have been many cases of lead, cadmium, mercury, and other toxic metals found in these supplements. If you are taking them, you should stop immediately!
Tags: women health