Nutrition Series
HealthLink BC File #68e, March 2011

Food Sources of Calcium and Vitamin D

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• Why do you need calcium and vitamin D?
• How much calcium and vitamin D do you need?
• What foods contain calcium?
• What foods contain vitamin D?
• What if you do not eat dairy foods?
• Food Sources of Calcium

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Why do you need calcium and vitamin D?

Calcium is one of the minerals that you need to be healthy. Calcium is very important to ensure strong, healthy bones and teeth. It also helps muscles and nerves to work properly. Vitamin D helps you to absorb and use calcium. Both calcium and vitamin D may have other health benefits, but more research is needed.

How much calcium and vitamin D do you need?

Recommended Calcium Intake¹

Age (Male and Female unless otherwise indicated)
0-6 months	200 mg/day
7-12 months	260 mg/day
1-3 years	700 mg/day
4-8 years	1000 mg/day
9-18 years	1300 mg/day
19-50 years (female)	1000 mg/day
19-70 years (male)	1000 mg/day
Over 50 years (female)	1200 mg/day
Over 70 years (male)	1200 mg/day

Recommended Vitamin D Intake¹

Age (Male and Female)
0-1 year	400 IU/day
1-70 years	600 IU/day
Over 70 years	800 IU/day

1 People with osteoporosis may need more calcium and vitamin D. Check with your doctor.

What foods contain calcium?

Breastfeeding is the best way to meet your baby's calcium needs. Infant formula provides calcium for babies who can not be breastfed.

Milk, yogurt and cheese are very high in calcium. Other good sources include calcium enriched orange juice, rice beverages, and soy beverages. For more information, see Food Sources of Calcium below.

What foods contain vitamin D?

There are only a few food sources of vitamin D. Good sources of vitamin D are fortified foods and beverages such as milk, soy drinks, orange juice and margarine. Check the labels on these foods. Fish, liver, and egg yolk are the only foods that naturally contain vitamin D.

You may find it difficult to get enough vitamin D from foods, so you may want to consider taking a vitamin D supplement. Most multiple vitamin supplements contain vitamin D. Breastfed babies under 1 year of age need 400 IU of vitamin D from a supplement each day. People over 50 years of age need extra vitamin D, and they should take a supplement with 400 IU each day.

Food Sources of Vitamin D

Food	Serving	Vitamin D (IU)
Milk	1 cup	103
Fortified rice or soy beverage	1 cup	88
Fortified orange juice	1/2 cup	53
Fortified margarine	2 tsp	51
Egg yolk	1	25
Herring, cooked	75 g	162
Trout, cooked	75 g	210
Mackerel, cooked	75 g	81
Salmon, Atlantic, cooked	75 g	246
Salmon, chum, canned	75 g	168
Salmon, pink, canned	75 g	435
Salmon, sockeye, canned	75 g	585
Sardines, Atlantic, canned	75 g	70
Sardines, Pacific, canned	75 g	360
Tuna, canned, light or white	75 g	44
Tuna, yellowfin (albacore, ahi), cooked	75 g	105
Tuna, skipjack, cooked	75 g	381
Tuna, bluefin, cooked	75 g	690

What if you do not eat dairy foods?

Every day, choose a variety of foods containing calcium and see the list below. Plan your food choices carefully. If you find it difficult to get the recommended amounts of calcium and vitamin D from foods, a combination of food sources and supplements is recommended.

Food Sources of Calcium

Conversion Table

1 cup = 250 mL 3/4 cup = 175 mL 1/2 cup = 125 mL 1/4 cup = 60 mL