Calcium is essential for strong teeth and bones because it gives them strength and rigidity. Our bodies contain about 1kg of this vital mineral and 99% of it is found in our bones and teeth. Most people should be able to get enough calcium through healthy eating.

People taking osteoporosis drug treatments may benefit from a daily calcium intake of around 1000mg. Your doctor or GP will be able to advise you on how much calcium you should eat if you have been prescribed these treatments.

A cheeseboard may be the most obvious serving suggestion, but dishes made with cheese also count towards your daily total, such as cheese omelettes, quiches made with cheese and egg, and dishes with cheese-based sauces like macaroni cheese or cauliflower cheese.

Find more cheese recipes.

Drink milk on its own or paired with low-sugar cereal or muesli. Milk-based drinks such as malted milk, hot chocolate or milkshakes also count, but be aware that the sugar in these can be quite high. Porridge made with milk is a good breakfast option, while rice pudding is a classic milk-based dessert.

Serve plain yogurt with fresh fruit as a dessert or snack, or make into Bircher muesli for breakfast.

Find more yogurt recipes.

Tofu is an extremely versatile ingredient and makes a great addition to curries, stir fries and even cannelloni.

Find more tofu recipes.

Canned fish is a useful storecupboard addition and increases your calcium intake too. Thrifty sardines are great in pasta dishes or on toast, while tinned salmon is delicious in salads or quick & easy fishcakes.

Find more sardine recipes.

Eating a variety of fruit and vegetables is important for good health – but the ones highlighted above can also contribute towards your daily calcium total. Try our recipes for green beans, cabbage, broccoli and tinned tomatoes.

Certain nuts and seeds are a good source of calcium and they're easy to incorporate into your diet, too. Mix tahini into yogurt or houmous for a delicious dressing or try making your own almond butter.

Find out more about the health benefits of nuts.

You might be surprised to discover that bread is fortified with calcium, so even toast can contribute towards your intake along with other calcium-rich foods.

Look through our healthy pasta and healthy sandwich recipes

If you don’t eat dairy products, you will need to include lots of other calcium-rich foods such as green leafy vegetables, almonds, sesame seeds, dried fruit, pulses, fortified soya drinks and soya protein (tofu) in your diet. A vegetarian diet is not a risk factor for osteoporosis, and vegetarians and vegans do not appear to have poorer bone health than the rest of the population.

If you are lactose intolerant, make sure you enjoy plenty of non-dairy calcium-rich foods such as pilchards, sardines, curly kale, watercress, sesame seeds and tahini (sesame seed spread). You could also choose fortified foods, such as water, soya milk or bread with added calcium. Check the label on the packet to see how much calcium has been added to each portion.

You need vitamin D to help your body absorb calcium. You can get vitamin D through sunlight exposure, from certain foods and drinks or from dietary supplements. Try to get short periods (about 10 minutes) of sun exposure to your bare skin, once or twice a day, between late March and the end of September, without sunscreen (but taking care not to burn). A UK government advisory committee has recommended that, in addition to sensible sunlight exposure, everyone over 1 year of age should get 10 micrograms (10 μg) of vitamin D every day (8.5-10 micrograms for all infants under 1 year). Talk to your doctor if you are concerned that you aren’t getting enough vitamin D or if you are considering taking a supplement.

There is no good evidence for this. The argument is that too much protein or grain foods creates high ‘acidity’ in the bloodstream and that this results in calcium being ‘leeched from the bones’ to balance things out, causing osteoporosis and fractures. To avoid this problem, it is claimed we need an ‘alkaline diet’, which means we should eliminate foods such as dairy products. Although there is some truth in the process that they describe, the current expert consensus is that a well-balanced healthy diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables should ensure the acidity/alkalinity balance is maintained.  Eliminating whole groups of foods isn’t necessary, and in fact risks cutting out essential nutrients for bone healt