Foods High in Calcium: UK Portions and Non-Dairy Sources

The foods highest in calcium are milk, yoghurt and cheese, tinned sardines and salmon eaten with the bones, calcium-set tofu, fortified plant milks and UK white bread, and a second tier of kale, broccoli, okra, almonds, sesame and dried figs. The UK reference intake for adults is 700 mg a day, lower than the figures quoted on American sites, and a glass of milk, a pot of yoghurt and a matchbox of cheese reach it between them; without dairy, fortified plant milk, tofu and tinned fish do the same job.¹ Two things decide whether the calcium you eat does any good. Vitamin D controls how much the gut absorbs, which is why the two are advised together and why the winter supplement matters for bone; can you rebuild bone density covers where calcium fits beside exercise and protein. And some high-calcium plants, spinach above all, bind their calcium with oxalate so that almost none is absorbed, which is why spinach is on every list and should not be.² The table gives UK portions; the rest answers the non-dairy, vitamin D and supplement questions.

• Richest per portion: sardines with bones, calcium-set tofu, milk, yoghurt, hard cheese, fortified plant milk
• Useful plant sources: kale, pak choi, broccoli, okra, almonds, sesame and tahini, dried figs, fortified bread and cereal
• Poor despite the numbers: spinach, chard, rhubarb, because of oxalate
• Need: 700 mg a day for adults; more for teenagers and when breastfeeding; menopause does not change the UK figure
• Partner: vitamin D, 10 micrograms a day from October to March

Foods high in calcium, per UK portion

Approximate figures from UK food composition data; fortified products vary by brand.

• Sardines, tinned, with bones, 100 g: about 400 to 500 mg
• Tofu, calcium-set, 100 g: about 350 mg; check the label for calcium sulphate or chloride
• Milk, any fat level, 200 ml: about 240 mg; skimmed slightly higher than whole
• Fortified plant milk, 200 ml: about 240 mg, matched to cow's milk; organic plant milks are usually not fortified
• Yoghurt, plain, 150 g: about 200 to 250 mg; Greek yoghurt a little less per gram
• Cheddar or similar hard cheese, 30 g: about 220 mg; soft cheese much less
• Tinned salmon with bones, 100 g: about 90 to 300 mg, depending on how much bone
• Kale, boiled, 80 g: about 120 mg; pak choi similar, both well absorbed
• White bread, 2 slices: about 90 mg, from calcium added to UK flour by law; wholemeal about 45
• Almonds, 30 g: about 75 mg
• Tahini, 1 tablespoon: about 60 to 130 mg; sesame seeds 15 g about 100 mg
• Dried figs, 30 g (2 figs): about 70 mg
• Okra, cooked, 80 g: about 60 mg
• Fortified breakfast cereal, 30 g: 0 to 150 mg, brand dependent
• Broccoli, boiled, 80 g: about 35 mg
• Orange, one: about 50 mg; fortified orange juice, where sold, 150 ml about 180 mg
• Hard tap water, 1 litre: 50 to 150 mg in hard-water areas of England

How much calcium do you need?

700 mg a day for adults aged 19 and over, the UK reference nutrient intake. Teenagers need more, 800 to 1,000 mg, while bone is being built; breastfeeding adds 550 mg. Unlike American guidance, the UK does not raise the figure after the menopause, though women with osteoporosis are often advised by their doctor to ensure 1,000 mg a day with vitamin D as part of treatment.^{1, 3} Calcium contributes to the maintenance of normal bones and teeth, normal muscle function, normal neurotransmission, normal blood clotting and normal energy-yielding metabolism; those are its authorised roles. A UK diet with dairy reaches 700 mg easily; most shortfalls are in people who avoid dairy without replacing it, teenage girls, and older adults eating little.

Non-dairy sources of calcium

Fortified plant milk is the simplest swap, matching cow's milk at about 120 mg per 100 ml; check that the carton says "calcium" or "fortified", because organic versions by law cannot be. Calcium-set tofu is the richest single plant food and a 100 g portion gives half the day's need. Tinned sardines or salmon with the bones mashed in are the richest non-dairy animal source. Kale, pak choi, spring greens and broccoli carry calcium that is well absorbed, often better than from milk. Almonds, sesame, tahini and dried figs add 60 to 130 mg a portion. UK white bread is fortified. A vegan day of fortified plant milk on cereal, a tofu dish, a handful of almonds and a portion of greens reaches 700 mg without difficulty.²

Why spinach does not count

Spinach contains a lot of calcium on paper, around 150 mg per cooked portion, and almost all of it is bound to oxalate, so the body absorbs around 5% of it against 30% from milk and 50% or more from kale and broccoli. Chard, beet greens and rhubarb have the same problem. They are good foods for other reasons; they are not calcium sources, and lists that rank spinach above cheese are counting the wrong thing.²

Do you need vitamin D to absorb calcium?

Yes. Vitamin D controls the active absorption of calcium in the gut; without enough of it, you absorb a fraction of what you eat however rich the diet, and bones soften. That is why the two appear together on labels and why the UK advice to take 10 micrograms of vitamin D a day from October to March is, in effect, bone advice.³ Our vitamin D guide covers the dose and the units. Vitamin K contributes to the maintenance of normal bones, which is its authorised role; the more specific claim that K2 directs calcium into bone rather than arteries is not authorised in the UK, and vitamin D3 and K2 explains the difference.

Calcium supplements: when, and when not

Food first, because calcium from food comes in amounts the body handles well and with the protein and other minerals bone also needs. A supplement makes sense when diet cannot reach 700 mg, for example a dairy-free diet without fortified alternatives, or when a doctor advises it for osteoporosis or after a fracture; do you need a calcium supplement works through who has that gap. Keep single doses to 500 mg or less, because absorption falls above that, take calcium carbonate with food and calcium citrate at any time, and separate calcium from iron, zinc, levothyroxine and some antibiotics by two hours. The UK guidance level for supplemental calcium is 1,500 mg a day, and total intakes much above 2,000 mg from all sources bring kidney stone risk and constipation.⁴ Large observational studies have raised, and others have not confirmed, a question over high-dose calcium supplements and heart health; the studies concerned 500 mg or more a day taken on top of diet, and the reasonable position is food first, with a supplement sized to close the gap and vitamin D alongside.³ Wellgard's Vegan Calcium Gummies with Vitamin D3 and Phosphorus supply 400 mg of calcium and 7.5 micrograms of vitamin D3 per two gummies, a gap-closing dose rather than a full day's; calcium is needed for the maintenance of normal bones and teeth.

Signs you may be short

There are no reliable early signs. Blood calcium is held constant by drawing on bone, so a blood test reads normal until the parathyroid glands or kidneys fail. Low intake shows over years as low bone density and fractures, which is why intake, not symptoms, is the thing to check. Muscle cramps, tingling and brittle nails are attributed to calcium online; they have many other causes, and a diet check is more useful than a symptom list; what are the signs of low calcium separates low intake from low blood calcium.

What we don't know

• Whether calcium supplements above food intake harm the heart. Observational signals, inconsistent trials; food calcium shows no such signal.³
• How much plant-based diets rely on fortification. Probably heavily; the UK data are thin.

Frequently asked questions

Which foods are high in calcium?

Milk, yoghurt and hard cheese; sardines and salmon with bones; calcium-set tofu; fortified plant milks and bread; kale, pak choi, broccoli, almonds, sesame and dried figs.¹

What are non-dairy sources of calcium?

Fortified plant milk, calcium-set tofu, tinned fish with bones, kale and pak choi, almonds, tahini, dried figs and fortified bread. A vegan diet reaches 700 mg with these.²

How much calcium per day in the UK?

700 mg for adults; 800 to 1,000 mg for teenagers; an extra 550 mg when breastfeeding. The UK figure does not rise after the menopause unless a doctor advises it.¹

Do you need vitamin D to absorb calcium?

Yes. Vitamin D controls calcium absorption in the gut, which is why 10 micrograms a day from October to March is bone advice.³

Is banana or egg high in calcium?

No. A banana has about 6 mg and an egg about 25 mg. Neither is a calcium source.

Sources

1. NHS. Calcium: vitamins and minerals. nhs.uk.
2. Public Health England. McCance and Widdowson's The Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset. gov.uk.
3. The North American Menopause Society. Management of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women: the 2021 position statement. Menopause, 2021. PubMed 34448749.
4. Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals. Safe Upper Levels for Vitamins and Minerals, 2003. cot.food.gov.uk.

This article is general information, not medical advice. If you have osteoporosis, a fracture after a minor fall, kidney stones or a parathyroid condition, follow your doctor's advice on calcium and vitamin D.