Prehistoric Calcium Consumption
Some claim that pre-historic man consumed more calcium than we do.
To check this, we have to compare calcium contents of foods that are consumed today, with foods in the pre-historic diet. Before the introduction of agriculture, about 10,000 years ago, no grains and dairy products were consumed, nor beans, which need to be cooked for consumption. So the question is: does a diet of only animal food and fruits and nuts contain more calcium than a diet that also includes beans, grains and dairy products?
Nope. Grains and beans, on the average, contain at least as much calcium as a diet of raw-edible plant foods and animal food, and dairy products contain even more calcium;
First, calcium contents (in mg / 100 g) of foods that can be consumed raw:
Raw-edible plant foods1 Poppy seed 2 Sweet corn 4 Mungbean sprouts 4 Chanterelle 4 Edible boletus 6 Lentil sprouts 6 Muskmelon 7 Apple 8 Tomato 8 Peach 8 Persimmon 9 Lychee 9 Banana 10 Pear 10 Bilberry 10 Avocado 11 Watermelon 11 Green peppers 11 Mushroom 12 Mango 12 Oyster mushroom 12 Durian 14 Plum 15 Cucumber 16 Pineapple 17 Cherry 17 Guava 17 Passion Fruit 18 Grape 20 Cauliflower 20 Lettuce 20 Coconut 26 Strawberry 31 Onion 31 Breadfruit 32 Soybean sprouts 34 Radish 35 Lamb’s lettuce 41 Carrot 42 Orange 44 Blackberry 54 Fig 56 Pea sprouts 80 Celery 81 Tamarind 87 Walnut 98 Sunflower seed 132 Brazil nut 226 Hazelnut 252 Almond, sweet 783 Oriental sesame
Animal foods3 Lamb 3 Pork 6 Beef 12 Mutton 12 Chicken 12 Trout 13 Salmon 13 Veal 13 Horse 14 Hare 14 Rabbit 17 Eel 20 Perch 20 Pheasant 26 Turkey 43 Crayfish 45 Pigeon 53 Bream 56 Chicken egg 58 Tench 63 Duck egg 82 Oyster 107 Turtle 160 Krill
And, secondly, calcium contents of dairy products, grains and beans:
Grains and beans6 Potato 15 Maize 23 Rice 32 Cassava 35 Sweet potato 38 Barley 38 Wheat 50 Pea, seed 64 Rye 80 Oats 95 Amaranth 113 White beans 123 Mung bean 123 Pigeon pea 124 Chick pea, seed 201 Soya bean 530 Winged bean (Goa bean)
Dairy products95 Quark, fresh cheese 120 Cow’s milk 120 Yogurt 310 Muenster cheese 526 Blue cheese 752 Cheddar cheese 800 Edam cheese (30% fat) 1,020 Emmental cheese (45% fat) 1,180 Parmesan cheese (45% fat)
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© 2000 Copyright Artists Cooperative Groove Union U.A.
Source Souci, S.W. et al, Food Composition and Nutrition Tabels, Medpharm Scientific Publishers, Stuttgart 1994. |