Remember those “Got Milk” ads and how we were told by gorgeous athletes, models, and actors to drink milk and eat dairy products to get our calcium?  Today, women are recommended to women have about 1,000-1,200 mg of calcium daily from diet and supplementation; while men should be getting 500-600 mg daily but only from food. The National Institute of Health recommends varying amounts of calcium for children from infant through adolescence from 400-1200 mg daily.

There are many, perhaps even better, ways to get your calcium besides from milk and dairy products. In fact, many people aren’t even aware that they have a sensitivity, or even and intolerance to dairy products- particularly from cow dairy.
Dairy, particularly cow’s dairy, can cause digestive distress with symptoms such as bloating, gas and constipation. Instead of treating these symptoms with medications or antacids, which can make the problem even worse, you can try eliminating dairy to see how your body responds.

Even children can and should get calcium from sources other than from traditional dairy. While for years we believed that milk, cheese, and yogurt were essential to building strong bones, today Dr. Walter Willet, the second-most-cited scientist in all of clinical medicine and the head of nutrition at Harvard’s School of Public Health, and the biggest critic of the tradition USDA Food Pyramid, has found evidence to the contrary.

Some of Dr. Willet’s research has found that:

1. Milk doesn’t reduce fractures. Contrary to popular belief, eating dairy products has never been shown to reduce fracture risk. In fact, according to the Nurses’ Health Study dairy may increase risk of fractures by 50 percent!
2. Less dairy, better bones. Countries with lowest rates of dairy and calcium consumption (like those in Africa and Asia) have the lowest rates of osteoporosis.
3. Calcium isn’t as bone-protective as we thought. Studies of calcium supplementation have shown no benefit in reducing fracture risk. Vitamin D appears to be much more important than calcium in preventing fractures.
4. Calcium may raise cancer risk. Research shows that higher intakes of both calcium and dairy products may increase a man’s risk of prostate cancer by 30 to 50 percent. Plus, dairy consumption increases the body’s level of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) — a known cancer promoter.

According to Dr. Mark Hyman, founder of the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Functional Medicine, “The majority of humans naturally stop producing significant amounts of lactase — the enzyme needed to properly metabolize lactose, the sugar in milk — sometime between the ages of two and five.”

We are one of the only cultures where we feed our children milk once they have been weaned. Instead, most scientists agree that it’s better for us to get calcium, potassium, protein, and fats from other food sources, like whole plant foods — vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and seaweed.

For people suffering from Osteoporosis or other bone diseases, while getting enough calcium is important, making sure your body is able to absorb it is even more important. Some specialists in the field recommend getting adequate amounts of Vitamin D3 and Magnesium to help your body absorb the calcium. Others, like Dr. Andrew Weil, Director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, even recommend that supplementing with Vitamin K2 may help the body absorb calcium more effectively.

Both animal protein and plant-based diets all offer great sources of calcium and you may be surprised by the variety of foods you can incorporate into your diet. In fact, while an 8 oz. glass of low-fat milk has 300 mg of calcium, you can get the same amount of calcium from 8 oz. of fortified almond, rice, cashew or even coconut milk. You may already know that 1 cup of dark leafy greens like kale offer about 180 mg of calcium (which is more than a serving of cottage cheese), but did you know that 1 cup of Collard greens offers more than 350 mg of calcium? Figs, almonds, almond butter and tahini are all also great sources of plant-based calcium. Wild-caught salmon and sardines are calcium-rich foods.

The best way to know if you are sensitive to dairy is to eliminate it for 10-14 days and see if you notice any changes. If you find that you are not sensitive to dairy, then you can add back in some of the calcium-rich dairy products, like milk, Greek yogurt, and cheese, to your diet. To be safe, just be sure to use only hormone-free, organic dairy products whenever possible to reduce your exposure to the antibiotics and hormones found in many dairy products.