What are the calcium supplementation recipes for pregnant women
Release time : 09/05/2025 09:30:04
Babies need a lot of calcium to grow their bones and these are absorbed from the mother's own body.
If the daily diet cannot ensure sufficient calcium content, pregnant women will have various symptoms of calcium deficiency.
What are some calcium-rich diets for pregnant women? Here's a must-read list!
What are some calcium-rich diets for pregnant women? During pregnancy, expectant mothers lose a significant amount of calcium to ensure the development of their baby's bones.
If a pregnant woman follows a normal diet, the calcium lost cannot be replenished, resulting in various symptoms of calcium deficiency.
Pregnant women, here are some calcium-rich diet recipes for you to take note of.
Recipe for Calcium-Rich Prenatal Diet: Stir-Fried Spinach with Squid Flakes Ingredients: 400 grams of spinach, 10 grams of squid skin, 10 grams of vegetable oil, and appropriate amounts of green onions, ginger, and garlic.
Instructions: Wash the spinach and cut it into 3-cm pieces.
Soak dried shrimp in warm water for a while, then clean it thoroughly.
Place the frying pan on the heat, add oil, and when it's hot, add the green onion and shrimp flaked.
Put the spinach into and stir-fry for a while, then add some salt and stir-fry.
The recipe contains 12.3g protein, 26.3g fat, energy 325.4Kcal and 336.3g calcium.
2. Pregnant Women's Calcium-Rich Diet: Seaweed Stir-Fry with Rice Ingredients: 500g of Chinese cabbage, 50g of water shrimp, 2.5g each of shiitake mushroom slices, corn flakes, and ham slices, a little bit of ginger powder, an appropriate amount of salt, 10g of oil, and an appropriate amount of fresh broth.
Method: Cut into 3.3cm long sections, chop the Chinese cabbage into 4 segments each about 3cm in length, then blanch in boiling water, drain off the water and place on a plate.
Put the pan on fire, add oil, heat it up, put rapeseed, dried shrimp, mushroom slices, corn flakes and ham pieces in the pan, add seasonings and fresh soup, turn over the pan, stir well.
The recipe contains 12.7g protein, 52.1g fat, 571.6kcal and 584.6mg of calcium.
What foods can pregnant women supplement with calcium? The calcium required for the growth of a baby's bones is entirely derived from their mother. Many expectant mothers may experience various symptoms of calcium deficiency without additional supplementation in their diet during pregnancy.
Besides choosing the right calcium preparation, the most safe and convenient way to get calcium is by consuming it in the diet.
What are the foods that pregnant women can consume to increase their calcium intake? 1. Dairy products: Milk, milk powder, cheese, yogurt, and condensed milk are excellent sources of calcium for pregnant women. A half-pound of milk contains nearly 300mg of calcium. Of course, besides calcium, these also contain a variety of amino acids, lactic acid, minerals, and vitamins, which help facilitate the full absorption and digestion of calcium in the body.
It is important to note that due to the fact that the fetus requires all of its calcium from the mother's body, a pregnant woman can only meet the fetus's rapid growth needs through dietary intake; therefore, it is necessary to choose calcium supplements wisely. Pregnant women can take Calcium-Plus tablets, which are safe and do not irritate the gastrointestinal tract.
2. Seafood: Kelp, shrimp shells, carp, crucian carp, silver carp, and mud worm are all rich in calcium among all seafood. Among them, kelp and shrimp shells have the highest calcium content.
Adding seaweed to meat or cooking it afterward can make the dish even more delicious, and it also increases calcium content. 25g of seaweed can provide 300mg of calcium per day.
And the amount of calcium in shrimp is even richer, 25g of shrimp contains 500mg of calcium. Therefore, it is advisable to use shrimp as a soup or filling for calcium supplementation.
3. Soy products: Tofu, soy milk, tofu slices, tofu skin, tofu pickles, etc. In the soybeans and various soy products we often eat, they are also rich in calcium and soybeans are high in protein.
In 500g of soy milk, there is 120mg of calcium. In 150g of tofu, the amount of calcium is as high as 500mg.
However, since the absorption rate of calcium in tofu is far lower than that in dairy products, milk remains the best source of calcium supplementation. Soybeans can serve as an additional supplement to milk.
4. Vegetables: Chinese cabbage, mustard greens, fennel, dill, and celery are just some of the vegetables that contain large amounts of calcium. For example, a hundred grams of Snowflower contains 230mg of calcium.
The content of calcium in cabbage, rape, fennel, coriander and celery is about 150mg per 100g.
However, in vegetables such as soybeans, there are oxalic acid and phytic acid, which will affect the absorption rate of calcium in the human body.
5. Nuts: Almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts, pine nuts, chestnuts, and white berries are all included in this category. These nuts also contain essential calcium for the human body, and when consumed alongside calcium, they can provide beneficial unsaturated fatty acids that enhance skin health and shine.
The optimal time and dose for calcium supplementation during pregnancy vary depending on the stage of the pregnancy.
It is important for pregnant women to ensure adequate calcium intake during their pregnancy. This can not only guarantee the physical health of the mother but also provide sufficient protection for the growth and development of the baby.
1. Early Pregnancy (0-12 weeks): Generally, the daily calcium requirement during early pregnancy is 800 mg. If a mother-to-be drinks 1-2 milk bags per day (each bag contains approximately 260 mg of calcium), she can supplement with 1 tablet of DICKY—American imported calcium (300 mg). Those who prefer not to drink milk should take 2 tablets of DICKY—American imported calcium.
(2) In the early stages of pregnancy (0-12 weeks), the amount of calcium provided to the fetus by the mother increases from 0 to 50 mg.
Therefore, expectant mothers are advised to start taking calcium supplements as early as possible before pregnancy. Women who do not consume milk products and those with weak constitution should take action earlier.
2. In the mid-stage of pregnancy (13-26 weeks), (1) To better absorb calcium, pregnant mothers need to supplement with calcium and perform some auxiliary work. For example, they should expose themselves to sunlight more often, as adequate ultraviolet radiation can promote the synthesis of Vitamin D in the human body and improve the absorption rate of calcium.
Simultaneously, pregnant women engaging in physical activities to stretch and exercise the muscles can improve the nutritional status of skeletal muscle and enhance bone density.
(2) The most timely for pregnant women to take calcium is not more than 20 weeks of pregnancy, because this period is the most vigorous period of fetal bone formation and development. In mid-pregnancy, the demand for calcium for the mother increased to 1200 milligrams.
3. In the late stages of pregnancy (between 27 weeks and full term), it is during this period that the fetus accumulates the most bone mass, requiring mothers to consume 150-450 milligrams of calcium daily, on average about 350 milligrams per day.
At this time, it is equally important to persist in calcium supplementation, ensuring adequate calcium intake for both oneself and the baby during the final stages of pregnancy.
The Chinese Nutrition Society recommends that expectant mothers and breastfeeding mothers should consume 1200mg of calcium daily to ensure both mother and baby have a "win-win" relationship in terms of their bones.
4. Postpartum (1) After childbirth, it is important for postpartum mothers to ensure adequate calcium intake not only for their own rapid recovery but also for improving the quality of breast milk.
Therefore, mothers who breastfeed babies must consume adequate amounts of calcium.
Only if the mother gets enough calcium can she provide high-calcium milk for the baby, otherwise the breastfeeding baby will also lack in calcium.
(2) After baby is born, a mother needs to feed the newborn with breast milk.
A healthy nursing mother, 100 ml of milk contains about 35 mg of calcium, so every 1000 ml of milk can cause the mother to lose 300-400 mg of calcium. A nursing mother who breastfeeds for six months needs to consume about 4-6% of her own bones.
If calcium intake is insufficient, it will affect the own bone health.
It is important to ensure adequate calcium intake during pregnancy, so expectant mothers should adhere to regularity and lay a solid foundation for the healthy growth of their baby.
Calcium absorption needs to be coupled with Vitamin D. Vitamin D can help in the absorption of calcium in the intestine, promote the deposition of calcium in bone, and reduce the excretion of calcium by kidneys.
Vitamin D deficiency can reduce calcium absorption to below 10%.
If the pregnant woman has sufficient vitamin D, it is beneficial for the absorption of calcium.
Therefore, it is important that calcium tablets contain an appropriate amount of Vitamin D for the absorption of calcium.
Pregnant women need to take calcium supplements for several reasons. Calcium supplementation is important not only for the mother but also for the fetus.
Many diseases are caused by calcium deficiency in pregnant women. If pregnant women get enough calcium, they can greatly reduce the incidence of diseases.
Below, we analyze the benefits of calcium supplementation for both the pregnant woman and her baby from two perspectives:
Pregnant women should take calcium supplements to reduce the occurrence of adverse conditions in the fetus: 1. Congenital diseases The fetus may not receive enough calcium, which can easily lead to neonatal congenital laryngeal cartilage softening disease.
When the newborn inhales, the congenital cartilage is bent and contacts the larynx, which is very easy to block the entrance of the larynx and produce snoring, which is very unfavorable for the health of the newborn.
More importantly, insufficient calcium intake during fetal development can easily lead to rickets, characterized by conditions such as skull softening, flat-topped cranium, abnormal closure of the anterior fontanelle, rib notches, and pectus excavatum or omphalophlebitis.
2. Skeletal development is abnormal in fetuses. The calcification of bones and teeth begins at 2 months, and accelerates rapidly at 8 months. Thus the fetus absorbs a large amount of calcium from the maternal blood to meet its needs.
If a pregnant woman lacks calcium, it directly affects the development of fetuses' skeletons.
3. The brain development is not mature, and the pregnancy period is the key period for the growth of the fetal brain.
The growth, metabolism and normal functioning of brain cells all depend on calcium.
Therefore, calcium is very important for the intellectual development and nervous system of fetuses. Calcium supplementation can enhance future intellectual development of the fetus.
Calcium supplementation during pregnancy can alleviate the following physical discomforts: 1. Preventing and alleviating edema in hands and feet, and lower back pain. After becoming pregnant, shoes that were originally comfortable become tight and uncomfortable, accompanied by frequent lower back pain. These symptoms are more common in the later stages of pregnancy and are related to a significant loss of calcium, reduced serum calcium levels, and endocrine changes.
Mom can reduce the risk of edema and lower back pain by taking calcium supplements.
2. To prevent cramping and joint pain, calcium is closely related to the contraction of cardiac and skeletal muscles, as well as the regulation of nerve cells.
When pregnant women are deficient in calcium, it can lead to an increase in neuroexcitability, resulting in muscle contraction and symptoms such as cramps and joint pain.
Therefore, pregnant women need to supplement sufficient calcium to prevent these symptoms.
3. Preventing Hypertension During Pregnancy: After becoming pregnant, it is not only a torment to endure various pregnancy reactions but sometimes also suffer from hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, posing a threat to the health of both the mother and the fetus.
Calcium deficiency is an important factor in the occurrence of pregnancy-induced hypertension. Clinical studies have shown that supplementation with calcium can reduce the incidence of pregnancy toxemia.
Therefore, supplementing calcium preparations is crucial for pregnant mothers.
Pregnant women should pay attention to calcium supplementation. The human body is an organic whole, and calcium supplementation is not simply a matter of adding or subtracting.
Individual differences, variety of food, and different combinations can affect the intake of calcium.
Pregnant women need to pay attention to calcium supplementation, as there are certain precautions they must take.
1. Selection of Calcium Preparations: (1) Currently, the majority of calcium preparations on the market are active calcium, but reports indicate that arsenic, mercury, lead, and chromium have been detected in their finished products. Additionally, their toxicity is significant, thus the safety of these preparations is still under evaluation.
(2) In processed foods, the most commonly used is calcium carbonate.
Although there is great individual variability in the absorption and utilization of calcium carbonate, the average rate of absorption is not significantly different from that of other forms of calcium and dairy products.
Because calcium carbonate dissolves only at low pH, it is not suitable for patients with insufficient stomach acid.
(3) Organic calcium salts such as citric acid calcium are not only low in calcium but also more soluble than calcium carbonate. They are suitable for patients with gastric acid deficiency.
(4) Calcium phosphate can be used as a fortifier in food or calcium supplements, but these products are difficult to dissolve and contain a considerable amount of phosphorus, which is not suitable for patients with renal failure.
Additionally, many calcium supplements contain vitamin D, magnesium, and other minerals. These products should be used with caution in patients with renal insufficiency or those who are restricted in their nutrient intake.
At present, a new calcium preparation L-succinate Calcium has been developed. It is obtained from an anion with biological activity and calcium. In the body, the peak time of blood calcium concentration, half life and total bioavailability are all larger than those of other calcium preparations.
2. The selection of calcium dosage: Calcium absorption increases with an increase in the intake of calcium, but once this value is reached, further increases in intake do not result in additional absorption.
When pregnant women are calcium supplemented, it is important to consider whether there are differences in the individual needs of the organism (for example, age, sex, and racial habits) or differences in the amount of calcium in the diet.
At the same time, it is important to pay attention to the following points when calcium supplementation during pregnancy: (1) Adverse effects of calcium preparations.
The dosage of calcium is 1-2 mg/d, which can be used for a long time without side effects.
In certain instances, symptoms such as constipation, intestinal distension, and bloating may be observed.
For the elderly and patients with hereditary metabolic disorders, excessive supplementation can lead to hypercalciuria and may contribute to the formation of kidney stones.
Excessive use of calcium preparations containing vitamins D or other elements can lead to vitamin D toxicity or other syndromes.
(2) The Influence of Food on Calcium Absorption.
Foods containing excessive phosphorus or oxalic acid can form insoluble calcium salts with calcium.
Excessive fat can combine with calcium to form insoluble "calcium soap", which reduces the absorption of calcium.
(3) It is essential to be cautious when supplementing calcium with vitamin D.
Many people know that Vitamin D can promote the absorption of calcium, so they do not limit the intake of Vitamin D. However, excessive intake of Vitamin D due to its long metabolic time in the body can cause accumulation and lead to poisoning.
For adults, regular exposure to sunlight is the best source of vitamin D. Generally, there is no need for supplementation. However, for infants and children, sunbathing is the best way to promote the synthesis of vitamin D in the body.
Unless it is for patients severely deficient in Vitamin D, treatment should be administered under the guidance of a physician and should be limited to specific times and doses. It should not be taken over an extended period.
This article contains medical information for reference only.
If you experience discomfort, it is advised to seek medical attention immediately. The diagnosis and treatment should be based on the clinical examinations conducted by a healthcare professional.