Lactose Intolerance and Calcium: Where to Get Calcium?

When planning meals, people with lactose intolerance should make sure that each day's diet includes enough calcium, even if dairy products are not included.

 

Many non-dairy foods are high in calcium. Some of these foods include dark, green vegetables, such as broccoli. Other options include fish with soft, edible bones, such as salmon and sardines. To help in planning a high-calcium, low-lactose diet, the table that follows lists some common foods that are good sources of dietary calcium. In addition to showing how much calcium each food contains, the table with dairy products shows the amount of lactose each food contains.

 

Calcium and Lactose in Common Foods
Fruits, Vegetables, and Proteins	Calcium Content	Lactose Content
Soymilk, fortified, 1 cup	200–300 mg	0
Sardines, with edible bones, 3 oz.	270 mg	0
Salmon, canned, with edible bones, 3 oz.	205 mg	0
Broccoli, raw, 1 cup	90 mg	0
Orange, 1 medium	50 mg	0
Pinto beans, 1/2 cup	40 mg	0
Tuna, canned, 3 oz.	10 mg	0
Lettuce greens, 1/2 cup	10 mg	0
Dairy Products
Yogurt, plain, low-fat, 1 cup	415 mg	5 g
Milk, reduced fat, 1 cup	295 mg	11 g
Swiss cheese, 1 oz.	270 mg	1 g
Ice cream, 1/2 cup	85 mg	6 g
Cottage cheese, 1/2 cup	75 mg	2–3 g

   

Recent lactose intolerance research shows that yogurt with active cultures may be a good source of calcium for many people with lactose intolerance. Even though yogurt is fairly high in lactose, the bacterial cultures used to make it produce some of the lactase enzyme required for proper digestion.