got milk? If not, try these other calcium rich foods

Dairy-free Calcium Sources

Not only does calcium build healthy bones and teeth but it ensures your muscles and nerves work properly too.  For each muscle cell to contract it has to pump calcium in and out.  Calcium is important for nerves because they fire their signals by releasing calcium.  This mineral also helps the body maintain healthy blood vessels, regulate blood pressure, and even prevent insulin resistance (which could lead to Type 2 diabetes) . Adults need about 1,000 milligrams a day—that's a little more than three 8-ounce glasses of milk—but what if your Nutrition Response Testing program includes not drinking milk or eating milk products?  Or what if you're vegan, lactose intolerant, or just don't like the taste of dairy products? Here's a little-known fact: there are lots of non-dairy foods with calcium. Here are 15 of them:

1. White Beans

191 mg  in 1 cup canned
Creamy and light, these legumes are a great source of calcium and iron . Add them to a gluten-free pasta dish with veggies or skip the chickpeas and make your own hummus with white beans.

2. Collard greens

268 mg per 1 cup cooked

In addition to serving up more than a quarter of your daily calcium needs, this Southern favorite is also loaded with nearly three days worth of vitamin A, a nutrient that helps keep your eyes sharp as you age. Though collard greens are traditionally cooked with butter and fattening meats like bacon, they also taste great sauteed with olive oil and garlic.

3. Sardines

321 mg in about 7 sardines fillets
There’s nothing fishy about sardines—they are one of the healthiest fish to munch on! Along with calcium, they also provide a hefty dose of omega 3s and vitamin D. 

4. Dried Figs
107 mg  in 8 whole dried figs
For a sweet treat, this dried fruit packs an antioxidant, fiber, and calcium punch . Eat them as a midday snack.

5. Bok Choy
74 mg in 1 cup
This versatile Chinese cabbage provides a hefty dose of vitamins A and C, along with calcium and fiber. Stir-fry bok choy with garlic and olive oil for a perfect side dish.

6. Blackstrap Molasses

172 mg  in 1 tablespoon
When your sweet tooth strikes, it’s best to go natural. Blackstrap molasses is darker in color and richer in flavor than regular molasses, and is filled with calcium, iron, and other vitamins. Plus, it’s a great sweet and flavorful addition to many dishes. 

7. Kale

188 mg in 2 cups raw (chopped)
This superfood is filled with calcium and antioxidants and is perfect to use as the base of any salad when shredded into thin strips or easy to add to a smoothie.

8. Black-Eyed Peas

185 mg in 1/2 cup canned
These beans are filled with calcium, potassium, folate, and more! Skip the mayo and make a black-eyed pea spread to pump up any sandwich or appetizer.

9. Almonds

72 mg in ¼ cup (about 20 nuts)
You’re "nuts" if you don’t grab a handful of almonds every now and then! They’re the most nutritionally dense nut, packing a crazy amount of nutrients per calorie and ounce. Aside from calcium, they also contain potassium, vitamin E, and iron. Eat alone or always good to sprinkle on a salad. Just watch out for portion size!

10. Oranges

65 mg in 1 medium fruit
Full of vitamin C and calcium, enjoy this fruit as a mid-morning snack, or use its citrus flavor to brighten up any dish,

11. Turnip Greens
197 mg in 1 cup cooked (chopped)
This leafy green comes from turnip bulbs, and is filled with calcium, antioxidants, and folate, which could help improve mood. Sautee them as a side dish.

12. Sesame Seeds

88 mg in 1 tablespoon
These unassuming seeds are more than just a hamburger bun decoration. Sesame seeds can help lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation, and may even fight against certain cancers. Use their nutty crunch in a salad or add to any vegetable dish.

13. Seaweed

126 mg in about 1 cup raw
Fish aren’t the only, well, fish in the sea. Seaweed is full of calcium, fiber, and iodine, which helps with proper thyroid function. Drink your miso soup, eat your seaweed salad or add a little to a green smoothie.  Just make sure the seaweed salad doesn't have artificial colors.  

14. Broccoli

86 mg in 2 cups raw

Believe it or not, in addition to calcium this cruciferous veggie contains nearly twice the vitamin C of an orange. Research also shows that diets high in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli may be linked to a lower risk of certain types of cancer, including colon and bladder cancer.


15. Okra
82 milligrams in 1 cup 

Okra contains constipation-fighting insoluble fiber, as well as vitamin B6 and folate. And don't write off this veggie if you've only ever had a boiled, slimy version; oven-roasting, sautéing, or grilling bring out the best flavor. 

Health Benefits of

Diatomaceous Earth

Food grade diatomaceous earth (DE) is a white powder that is almost entirely made of silica.  Silica is a mineral that is already in our body and is an important component of our  ligaments, cartilage, and muscles. When taken as a supplement DE may help to absorb mercury, E. coli, parasites, viruses, pesticide, radiation, drug residues and other toxins.

The only cautionary side effect that we have found relating to food grade diatomaceous earth has to do with direct inhalation and is essentially the same caution that is advised when handling any fine powder. Diatomaceous Earth is a very fine powder. 

Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth is 89% Silica.  It was established in the 1940s that life can’t exist without Silica. More recently, in her book “Water & Salt” Dr. Barbara Hendel states: “Silica is the most important trace element in human health.” Silica plays an important role in many bodily functions and has a direct relationship to mineral absorption.

Yet most people are, in fact, silica deficient.  We carry around 90mcgs of silica per 1 gram of hair we have on our bodies and we carry around 100mcgs of silica per 1 gram of bone.  Silica is in all of our connective tissue and it is so very important to include this mineral in our diets. Silica is mostly found in the fiber portions of whole grains, and the skins of fruits and vegetables.

Among other things, enough silica in the body is vital for calcium absorption to allow calcium supplements to work.

Reported Health Benefits of Silica / Diatomaceous Earth Include:

1. Maintaining Healthy Blood Pressure Levels
2. Maintaining Healthy Cholesterol Levels
3. Better Calcium Utilization for help with Osteoporosis and Healthier Joints
4. Stimulates Weight Loss
5. Improvement in Hair, Nails, Teeth & Gums
6. More Energy

According to Kayla T. Daniel, PhD, CCN and Galen D. Knight, PhD in their article “Mad as a Hatter” there is no better product to detox heavy metals and radiation from your body than with Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth!

Take diatomaceous earth daily on an empty stomach. I recommend starting small and slowly working your way up to a higher dose; begin with a teaspoon added to at least 12 ounces of liquid. Mix vigorously and drink immediately.  Some people don't like the mildly chalky flavor and gritty texture. If that describes you, try adding DE to a drink with more flavor (milk, orange juice, coffee, smoothies) or to light foods like yogurt, oatmeal, or applesauce.

As your body begins to detox, you may experience what is commonly known as "die off," which sometimes gives people mild flu-like symptoms for a couple days. This is a side effect of toxins leaving your body, not a side effect of DE itself. You can counteract these symptoms by increasing your fluid consumption, as well as reducing your DE dose for a couple days.

For gum health, because DE is one of the most nourishing substances for your gums, as your gums are connective tissue, which needs silica. To use it, mix 1 heaping tablespoon with water into a paste consistency. Pack it into your gums overnight after you brushed your teeth. Your gums will absorb the diatomaceous earth.  

If you have other ideas on how to use DE please share!

Eat This: Bone Broth

There’s a South American Proverb that says, “A good broth can raise the dead.” There is a reason why we eat soup when we are sick. A real bone broth has been simmering for hours to leach all the minerals and vitamins out of the bone making it liquid gold for our immune system. There are other great benefits to drinking bone broth on a daily basis.

If you slow cook the bone it draws out the collagen, marrow, and other healing elements from the bones, including amino acids, minerals, glycine, and gelatin—which helps heal the gut and reduce inflammation for the whole body.

Collagen, the protein matrix in bones, tendons, ligaments, and other flexible tissues, is broken down during the cooking process into another protein called gelatin. Gelatin is the reason properly prepared broth congeals in the fridge. This gelatin has in it the raw materials to rebuild your own connective tissue, especially tendons (which connect muscles to bones) and ligaments (which connect bones to each other).

Another benefit of bone broth for joint health comes from glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), a family of carbohydrates found in bones and connective tissue that show interesting effects in reducing joint pain. One of these GAGs, hyaluronic acid, is an effective treatment for osteoarthritis.



Bone broth helps in digestion by containing glycine, because it stimulates the production of stomach acid. Who may need more stomach acid, you ask? People who have acid reflux do because acid reflux is actually a problem of too little stomach acid, not too much. By prompting your body to secrete more stomach acid, glycine can help prevent or treat this painful and potentially dangerous problem. This makes bone broth a delicious supplemental food for anyone suffering from acid reflux, IBS, or FODMAPS intolerance.

Adding to its metabolic virtues, glycine is also an important component of bile acid, which is necessary for fat digestion in the small intestine, and also helps maintain healthy blood cholesterol levels. Especially for people who are new to Paleo and switching from a carb-based to a fat-based diet, this has the potential to keep the digestive process running a lot more smoothly.

Glycine isn’t the only useful protein for gut health, either. glutamine, another amino acid found in bone broth, is a natural remedy for “leaky gut,” that unpleasant and dangerous condition where the barrier between your gut and the rest of your body isn’t working properly, allowing molecules that should stay inside the gut to cross over into the bloodstream and potentially set of a cascade of autoimmune reactions. Glutamine helps maintain the function of the intestinal wall, preventing this damage from occurring.

Glycine also helps in detoxification because it supports the liver in removing anything dangerous from the body.
Glycine is also necessary for the synthesis of glutathione and uric acid, the body’s most important endogenous antioxidants.

Yet another detox-related benefit is that glycine helps clear out excess methionine, another amino acid found in large quantities in eggs and muscle meat. Methionine is an essential amino acid, but too much of it can raise blood levels of another amino acid called homocysteine, and the process of breaking down homocysteine increases the body’s need for B vitamins (thus increasing the risk of B vitamin deficiency even if your intake is adequate). Glycine from broths and cartilage can help break down homocysteine without the need for B vitamins.

Bone broth is extremely high in minerals. Bones from land animals are rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus, and fish bones also contain iodine. We know that at least some of this mineral content leaches out into the water, because the bones are crumbly and demineralized when the broth is done cooking – often they’re so weak that they’ll fall apart if you put any pressure on them. If you use smaller bones, like chicken or fish, they’ll sometimes even entirely dissolve into the stock.

Another interesting anti-inflammatory benefit of the proteins in bone broth is more rapid recovery from injury. Under the stress of an injury or disease, the body’s needs for these amino acids increases and bone broth is perfect for supplementing this increased need for the body to repair.

So the old advice of drink soup when you are sick still stands. Drink soup when inflamed, when joints hurt, to heal the gut or when recovering from an injury as well! If you don't want to make your own bone broth there's a great organic bone broth place in NYC, Brodo and online, even though it comes in plastic, The Osso Good Co.

My Favorite Green Smoothie

Many times a week I tell patients to add in more green vegetables into their diet. Instead of them taking another supplement I rather them get what their body needs straight off their plate (or bowl)! Sometimes I tell them they need it because they are testing low in iron and kale and spinach are great for iron. Sometimes I tell them to eat more leafy greens for calcium. Kale, collard greens and bok choy are good for that. Sometimes patients need the chlorophyl to help purify the blood and any 'green' is good for that! Green leafy vegetables are also a good source of protein for my vegetarians/vegans. But what if you are bored with the salad or green juice or already eating 2 salads a day? How do you add in even more? My answer is with a green smoothie!



It's easy to prepare. I don't have to think about what to have for breakfast. I just pop it all into the blender and I am done. After years of making different ones this is the recipe I like the most. All ingredients are organic. The avocado makes it creamy and the cocoa makes it chocolatey. If you don't like the chocolate taste feel free to not add it. It tastes good without it too. For the health benefits of adding cocoa, read my blog. Feel free to be creative with it and make it your own!

1 1/2 cups green leafy veggies
1/4 cup organic wild blueberries (frozen from Trader Joe's)
half an avocado
2 Tablespoons cocoa
1 Tablespoon flax seed
1 1/2 cups water or nut milk
1 scoop protein powder (I love Kachava)