Tofu is a great plant source of calcium; and more so if it is made using calcium sulphate as it then has more than five times the amount of calcium found in whole cow’s milk. You can also find calcium in green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, black molasses, watercress, cheese, dairy products, parsley, edible seaweeds, dried figs and calcium fortified Soya milk. Hard water too is a great source of calcium and drinking it provides you with 200 mg of calcium. This is unlike soft water.

It has been proven that a diet of animal derived proteins and calcium brings about a loss of calcium levels in the body as a rich meat diet causes demineralization. However, a vegetable protein diet and calcium helps protect against bone loss and osteoporosis. This is basically why the calcium daily requirements are increased in the United States to make up for its losses caused by the high protein consumption in the country.

Osteoporosis is a disease that is a major cause of most of the bone fractures in the elderly. However, this condition can rather be prevented, than treated with an adequate intake of calcium throughout life, but more so in childhood and young adulthood. Reduction of risk factors like excess alcohol intake, smoking and lack of exercise help prevent osteoporosis. It is also not advisable to have a diet rich in protein and salt as this tends to increase the loss of calcium in the body. Women in the post-menopausal stage are prone to osteoporosis as they produce less estrogen in the body.

So it can be seen that calcium is an important mineral of the body where its deficiency may cause many problems to the health of a person.