Substitute for Dairy?

[hotfuss]

What is a good substitute for dairy products?
I'm thinking soymilk, but I don't know if that would be to much better, because it still has a lot of sugar in it.
I'm just worried about lack of calcium.

[MissKristi]

well if you were eating dairy products before you werent getting much calcium out of them anyway so you dont even need to substitute...jsut try taking a supplement

[Emma-Leigh]

What is a good substitute for dairy products?
I'm thinking soymilk, but I don't know if that would be to much better, because it still has a lot of sugar in it.
I'm just worried about lack of calcium.

There is a really long discussion about it here

Lots of people think you can get sufficient calcium from other sources, because they have lists of 'calcium contents' in foods... But most people do not realise that the bioavailability of the calcium in many of these things (like beans or most green vegetables) is VERY poor. This means that you can actually have NO uptake of calcium at all from the intestines.

So, if you are going to cut dairy (and, unless you are intolerant or in the final few weeks of show preperation it is really not necessary) then I strongly suggest you:

1/ Get yourself a good calcium supplement. This means something with citrate and hydroxyapitate as the major calcium forms. If possible, something with Vit D and Mg would also be good. Aim to take ~1000-1200mg/day and you can divide it into 2 or 3 doses/day - but ~500mg first thing in the morning and ~500mg last thing at night (before bed) works well. Try not to take it with lots of fibre or lots of iron as these things stop it's absorption as well.

2/ Try REALLY hard to get calcium from other sources. As I said above, although some green vegetables and beans have some calcium in them they do not have a bioavailable source. So your best options would be canned salmon (with the bones) and tofu.

Here is a list of the AVAILABLE calcium in some foods (in mg)... You want to try to get ~1000mg/day:

Total cereal, 1 bowl 1000mg
Yogurt, 1 cup 350mg
Orange juice, fortified, 1 cup 300mg
Milk, 1 cup 300mg
Soy milk, fortified with 300 mg, 1 cup (bioavailable) 225mg
Cheddar cheese, 1 oz 200mg
Collards, 1/2 cup 200mg
String cheese, 1 oz 200mg
Tofu, nigari, 6 cubic inches 120mg
LIFE cereal, 1 bowl 100mg
Bok Choy, 1/2 cup 100mg
Almonds, dry roasted, 1/4 cup 100mg
Kale, 1 cup 90mg
Oysters, canned, 1 cup 75mg
Parmisan cheese, 2 Tbsp 60mg
Kippered snacks, 1 can 60mg
Kidney beans, 1/2 cup raw (bioavaiable) 60mg
Black beans, 1/2 cup raw (bioavailable) 60mg
Cottage cheese, 1/2 cup 60mg
Figs, dried, 2 60mg
Tortillas, 2 53mg
Broccoli, 1 cup 50mg
Most commercial bread, 1 slice 20mg
Potato, medium 20mg
Spinach, 1 cup (bioavailable) 0mg

3. And make sure all the other things that are important in bone health are ok:
a. Adequate Vit D - make sure you spend a little time in the sun
b. Make sure you do good weight bearing exercise
c. Make sure you are not underweight
d. Make sure your oestrogen levels are ok



(ps: If you are stopping dairy because you are lactose intolerant then you may still be able to cope with some yoghurt. This is because the bacteria have usually processed the lactose for you and it does not cause problems).