son cant have dairy- how do I give him enough calcium?

[NYMOM07]

I know that green leafy veggies have calcium, but honestly, there is no way my 2 year old is going to chow down on enough to get him the 500 or more mg's he needs a day. my doctor recommended adora chocolate calcium supplelments- anyone use those? I was going to just switch to soy,but read that something in soy mimics estrogen, and that it can be bad to give to boys in large quantities. any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Ruthla]

For a 2yo, the best choice would be human milk from a mom who's avoiding his allergens, so there are no traces of allergenic proteins in the milk. If you're nursing him several times a day, you don't need to worry about his calcium intake, and you have until he weans to get him to eat significant portions of non-dairy calcium sources (while you start eating them right away!)

I would not give plain calcium supplements. Your body can't really absorb calcium without vitamin D, magnesium, and probably a bunch of other nutrients that normally accompany calcium in nature. But vitamin D and magnesium are the primary things to worry about. Too little magnesium (or a poor calcium/magnesium balance) can lead to problems such as constipation and muscle aches. I'd either use a balanced "calcium complex" or skip the calcium supplements altogether and just get calcium from foods.

In traditional societies, most people got their calcium from meat or bones. Bone broths (broths cooked from bones) can be as high in calcium (and other minerals) as milk. It can also be lower, depending on how it's made. An acid (such as vinegar or lemon juice) in the water at the start of cooking helps leach minerals out of the bones, and a long cooking time also maximizes nutrients in the broth. I usually cook chicken broth for 24 hours before straining and using to make soup.

Another way to eat bones is to actually eat the bones- such as canned fish with small bones. When I eat sardines, I purposely buy the kind that aren't "skinless and boneless" (why pay more for less nutrition?) and mash them up really well and add spices before eating. When I eat canned salmon, I also mash up the bones and mix it into the rest of the fish before preparing into salmon salad or frying them up in olive oil to make patties.

Leafy green veggies are also high in many minerals, but it's hard to eat large quantities of green because the fiber fills you up. Eating them with fat (such as spinach with butter) helps your body better absorb the nutrients. Juicing greens is another way to get a lot of nutrition from them- you can easily consume larger portions with the fiber removed.

If he's not currently nursing, I'd try to get him to drink his calcium, as bone broths and/or as green beverages, whichever he seems to like better. It's normal for toddlers to get many nutrients from milk (liquid nutrition) and not to be FULLY on solid foods, so if breastmilk isn't an option, other liquid nutritional sources will be readily accepted.