Dairy-Free Calcium: Top Foods and Alternative Health Supplements

If you are lactose intolerant or allergic to the hormones and antibiotics that are found in milk and most dairy products, you probably let your calcium levels slip on many days of the week. This is actually a pretty dangerous thing to do - you can go fro quite a long time with steadily declining calcium levels, and your body will simply break down the minerals in your bones to compensate … so you'll feel no ill effects until you shatter your pelvis or shoulder, or your teeth suddenly seem to collapse all at once. It's important to get plenty of calcium, both from alternative health products and nutritional supplements, and from your diet. Today we check out the top sources of dairy-free calcium!

Almonds

These are not only a good source of non-dairy calcium, but great all-round for your health. They are one of the richest available dietary sources of vitamin E, and are also a good source of protein, fiber and magnesium.

Blackstrap molasses

Okay, unlike almonds this rich source of calcium is not really good for your general health! Pop it in your baked goods, sweet sauces and marinades, but don't overdo your intake of these foods just to get your calcium intake up … you'll end up worse off health-wise.

Broccoli

Broccoli is an awesome antioxidant as well as being packed with calcium (well, as much calcium as a vegetable can handle, anyway!). It contains magnesium, potassium and vitamin C in very decent quantities too.

Calcium enriched rice milk or soy milk

There is some debate about whether the calcium that rice milk and soy milk is fortified with is usable in the body. You're looking for calcium phosphate on the label to be certain that it is in a usable form for your body.

Figs

This fruit is a great complement to lamb, pork and chicken dishes - once you get used to cooking with figs you'll quickly become addicted.

Spinach

Spinach is surprisingly easy to add to a lot of savory recipes - you can pack a heap of spinach into your bolognaise sauce or lasagne without even noticing it is there. Risotto is another excellent way to get lots of spinach into your diet without doing it Popeye-style!

Alternative Health Supplements

Of course, these are much faster and provide a catch-all for the times when you just don't have time to bake, make stews or lasagnes.

Caring for Those Who Don't Care…

For those of us that have experienced it, there are few things more challenging, more heartbreaking and that requires more strength and conviction than caring for a loved one with depression. Natural treatments for depression and low moods have come a long way in recent years - but they can still take a while to work. Today we check out some of the points it is essential to keep in mind if you are caring for a depressed person.

Look into drug free treatment of depression

Many depressed people fervently hate taking medication - it makes their bodies feel alien and their thoughts seem to belong to somebody else. Looking into drug free treatment of depression and consulting with their physician about how to incorporate it into their routine might be the best thing you can do. There are plenty of alternative health care products that can help.

Understand the illness

Depression is not just somebody seeking attention, somebody being stubborn, or something that people can snap out of if they don't like. You cannot help somebody with depression if these things are going through the back of your mind … even if you don't say them.

Try to find out the 'focus' of their depression

Did they recently lose a job? Suffer a relationship breakup? Lose contact with a child? Are they grieving? Do they believe that they are unlikeable, etc? Knowing the focus of their depression can help you find positive ways to convince them that it is unfounded - in a gentle and constructive way.

Know that just being there helps

It can be extremely frustrating trying to care for somebody that doesn't care. Know that just being there is helping them - even if they act as if it’s the complete opposite.

Find a way to exercise with them

Mild to moderate exercise has enormous therapeutic potential for mild to moderate depression. Try to get your loved one out for a walk round the block every day. Many depressed people enjoy the company of animals - duck ponds, seagull feeding or dog walking is perfect.

If you can't go the distance, find someone who can

If you start caring for someone that is depressed and then decide it is too hard, it will only reinforce their ideas about humanity in general. Only those that are very close to a depressed person should be involved with them.