Air date: July 19, 2009

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Generally speaking, kids, and people in general, don't get enough calcium. Nutritionists say that's a problem. Jeremy Shere explains why.

When's the last time you had a tall, cool glass of milk? Me? I honestly can't remember the last time. Maybe I was 10? And if, like me, you're cautious about cholesterol and blood pressure, you may try to avoid dairy products generally.

But that could mean that you're not getting enough calcium. That's what researchers at the University of Minnesota found, anyway. According to their study, kids eat and drink less calcium-rich foods like like milk when they transition from high school to college, and from college out into the world.

So I asked researcher Nicole Larson how much calcium we should be getting.

"As an adult, about 1000 milligrams of calcium per day."

1000 milligrams is about 3 full glasses of milk. Now I don't know about you, but I'm not about to start drinking that much milk. Or any milk, for that matter. But there are other ways to get more calcium in your diet.

"There are certainly other dairy sources like yogurt and cheese. And also non-dairy sources like fortified breakfast cereals, fortified soy beverages and orange juice and also vegetables like bok choy, spinach."

You can also try tofu, canned salmon and almonds. Now calcium, as you probably know, is important for growing strong bones. If you don't get enough calcium, your bones can become frail, especially in old age. So, the researchers say, it's good to start young. Parents can help their kids get enough calcium simply by making it available.

"Families can really help their children to develop good healthy eating habits and to achieve adequate intakes of calcium by serving milk or other calcium rich foods at meal times."

Additional Resources:

• Learn more about calcium and why you need it from Scienceblog.com.

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