Latin American Food High in Calcium
By Odette Olivares, VRG Intern
Latin American gastronomy is the result of traditional indigenous cuisine enriched by ingredients that Spaniards, Africans, Portuguese, French, and people from other cultures brought on their arrival to Latin America. The diet of indigenous people used to be rich in plant foods with moderate quantities of insects, fish, and meat. They did not consume milk, cheese, or other dairy products, yet they were apparently able to get enough calcium from their diets.
Calcium absorption varies from person to person and depends on calcium sources and other factors. Usually between 25-30% of the total calcium intake for an average person with an omnivorous diet is absorbed.1 While approximately 30% of the calcium in cow's milk is absorbed,2 between 5% and 65% of calcium in vegetables is absorbed. This wide range is related, in part, to some vegetables' oxalate content. Oxalate is a substance that binds calcium and impedes its absorption.
Thanks to the climate of Latin America, this region has provided the world with an abundant variety of plant foods high in calcium. In addition, indigenous people from the region that is now Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua enriched Latin American gastronomy by developing a cooking technique called nixtamalization, which enhances maize (corn) flavor while improving its nutritional properties.
Nixtamalization has been used since 1200-1500 BCE, and it has allowed the astonishing quantity of dishes containing corn dough to be enriched with calcium that is easily absorbed and cheaper than milk. Without it, corn flour alone would contain much less calcium. The nixtamalization process increases the calcium content from 8 mg per cup in non-nixtamalized corn flour3 to approximately 157 mg per cup.4 This process consists of cooking maize in an alkaline solution called nejayote, which is prepared with lime (calcium hydroxide), and afterwards washed and hulled. In addition to adding calcium to the corn flour, this process makes it easier to absorb the starch, protein, and niacin, already present in corn.
By mixing nixtamalized corn flour with salt and water, you get corn dough or masa, as it is called in Latin America, which you can use to cook several traditional dishes such as arepas, gorditas, huaraches, pupusas, tlacoyos, tortillas, and many more. These dishes are similar to pita bread, can be thinner or thicker, and may be filled with beans or other ingredients.
While a cup of many brands of calcium-fortified soymilk provides approximately 300 mg of calcium (the same as a cup of dairy milk), a cup of cooked collards contains around 327 mg. To get this amount of calcium from tortillas made with nixtamalized corn flour, you would have to eat between 14 and 15 medium-sized tortillas, each containing 22 mg of calcium. In Mexico we are used to consuming a lot of tortillas. I have seen strong bricklayers consume this amount per meal. An average Mexican might easily reach this quantity, but in a day, not in a meal.
Another interesting ingredient from Mexico is cactus or nopal as it is called in Spanish, which is used raw or cooked in many Mexican dishes. Some people might not like it because of its slimy texture; however, it is very nutritious due to its fiber, vitamin C, and manganese content, in addition to its calcium content.
In some parts of Latin America, ingredients that used to be popular in the indigenous cuisine have lost popularity in younger generations. However, governmental organizations or entrepreneurs are bringing them back because of their valuable nutritional properties.
In the case of Colombia, stinging nettles were introduced with the arrival of the
Spaniards. Nowadays, they are not as popular as they once were, but they are still
used in salads, quiches, soups, and stews. Due to their contribution of protein,
calcium, and other important nutrients, entrepreneurs are reintroducing them in
traditional products such as empanadas. In order not to cause irritation
when handling them, they should be cut from the stems closest to the ground,
avoiding contact with the leaves.
Latin American Vegan Foods that Supply Calcium and Have a Low or Moderate Oxalate Content
| Food | Description | Portion | Calcium (mg) |
|---|---|---|---|
| More than 200 mg | |||
| Cochayuyo, dehydrated | Very long and thick algae that grows on Chilean coast. | 1 cup (30g) | 423 |
| Nopal or Cactus, cooked | Raw Mexican plant that is crunchy and slimy, with a tasty sour flavor. | 1 cup (149g) | 244 |
| Stinging Nettles, blanched | Plant native to Europe that Spaniards brought on their arrival. Eaten in salads, soups, or quiche, in Colombia, Ecuador, and Dominican Republic. | 1/2 cup (45g) | 214 |
| Miel Negra (Black Honey) or Blackstrap Molasses | Ingredient is obtained by boiling sugarcane juice three times. It is popular in Paraguay to cook black honey cake. | 2 Tbsp (30ml) | 200 |
| 100-199 mg | |||
| Malanga, Taro, raw | Starchy root vegetable with a white or pink flesh. Used in many traditional dishes and recently also in ice cream. | 1 cup (125g) | 161 |
| 70-99 mg | |||
| Yellow Hot Pepper, raw | Spicy pepper commonly used in Peru. | 1 piece (50g) | 90 |
| Refried Beans, vegetarian, canned | Black or brown beans fried and dried. This ingredient accompanies many Latin American dishes. | 1 cup (242g) | 85 |
| Butternut Squash, cooked | Orange squash with the form of a big pear. | 1 cup (205g) | 84 |
| Chickpeas, canned, cooked | Used mainly in Mexico, Paraguay, and Puerto Rico. | 1/2 cup (125g) | 80 |
| Orange, raw | Used in all Latin American countries and especially in Haiti, Mexico, Paraguay, and Puerto Rico. | 1 cup (180g) | 72 |
| 50-69 mg | |||
| Broccoli, cooked | This ingredient is not as popular as maize or beans in Latin America, but it is especially loved by Latin American vegans. Broccoli is widely produced in Mexico. Its production in Paraguay is increasing. | 1 cup (156g) | 62 |
| Flaxseeds, raw | These seeds are mainly consumed in Bolivia in flaxseed soda, also prepared with lemon. | 2 Tbsp (21g) | 60 |
| White Kidney Beans, cooked | Known simply as alubias in Mexico, they are traditionally cooked with tomato, onion, jalapeño chili, coriander, and meat or sausages. Using a meat substitute will still maintain the tastiness of this combination of ingredients. | 1/2 cup (130g) | 60 |
| Corn Tortillas, nixtamalized (cooked with lime) | In Mexico you can find a variety of corn in the colors of the rainbow. Note: Calcium content may vary depending on the quantity of lime added to the nixtamalization process. | 1 large piece (38g) | 51 |
| Figs, raw | Small soft fruit, usually eaten caramelized with piloncillo or panela (a solid cone of caramel made by evaporating sugar cane juice). | 3 pieces (150g) | 53 |
Note: The calcium RDA for adults age 19-50 is 1,000 mg per day. Oxalate is a substance that binds calcium and impedes its absorption. If a food is high in oxalates, such as spinach, Swiss chard, and rhubarb, only a small percentage of its calcium will be absorbed.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov
For oxalate content references, see vrg.org/nutrition/foods_calcium.htm
List of Latin American Vegan Dishes High in Calcium
| Food/th> | Description | Portion | \Calcium (mg) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexican Scrambled Tofu | Instead of eating traditional Mexican scrambled eggs, this vegan version can be just as tasty and provide you with lots of calcium! Other than including tofu prepared with calcium sulfate, or a combination of nigari (magnesium chloride) and calcium sulfate, it has tomato, onion, serrano pepper, garlic, black pepper, and turmeric. Since the calcium content in tofu varies, a tofu made with nigari and calcium sulfate was used to calculate the lower range of calcium. You get more calcium from this recipe if you prepare it with tofu made with calcium sulfate. Read ingredients on the package. | 1 cup | 175-305 |
| Yellow Hot Pepper Paste | Peruvian paste made to add flavor to rice, stews, and other dishes. Other than containing yellow hot pepper, it has red or white onion, garlic, canola oil, vinegar, and salt. | 1/2 cup | 202 |
| Tofu Quesadillas | Quesadillas are very easy and quick to make, and they are super tasty and popular in Mexico. Traditionally, they contain cheese (or queso in Spanish, which gave them their name). But they can also be filled with vegetables or beans. The maximum range of the calcium content from this table was calculated using tofu prepared only with calcium sulfate (higher in calcium than tofu made with nigari salts or magnesium chloride, or silken tofu). Tortillas contain more calcium if they are made with nixtamalized corn flour. | 2 quesadillas | 133-198 |
| Orange Atole | Since this version contains orange juice, brown sugar or piloncillo (made from sugarcane juice) is added in smaller quantities than the regular versions of Atole. The calcium content in the last column is based on calcium-fortified orange juice. | 1 cup | 192 |
| Bean Salad with Cochayuyo | Salad with navy beans, onion, coriander, lemon, and cochayuyo. This was one of the recipes selected by the Ministry of Health from Chile, to appear in a compendium of healthy and cheap Chilean menus. | 1 cup | 150 |
| Porotos Granados or Beans with Vegetables | Chilean stew made mainly with cranberry beans, maize kernels, squash, onion, cumin, basil, and oregano. | 1 cup | 85 |
| Frijoles de Olla or Pot Beans | This bean soup's name comes from the clay pots that were commonly used for cooking. In addition to black beans, it has hot pepper, epazote (a bitter spice), onion, garlic, and olive oil. | 1 cup | 78 |
| Rice with Stinging Nettles | Stew from Colombia and Chile made with white rice and stinging nettles. It can also contain rum. | 1 cup | 71 |
| Ponche Navideño or Christmas Punch | This hot Mexican beverage is part of the traditional Christmas celebration, and it also has a lot of different versions. The recipe used for the calcium calculation in this table included piloncillo, raisins, tamarind, tejocotes (a small fruit similar to a peach), guavas, prunes, apples, and pears. Some versions also include some alcohol, such as rum or cane alcohol. | 1-1/2 cup (fruit included) | 53 |
| Candied Figs | Traditional dessert from Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico. Three days are necessary to prepare it, since the figs need to be soaked in water the first day, and, after cooking them with a dash of sodium bicarbonate, they need to be soaked again for 24 hours. The third day they are cooked with piloncillo and cinnamon. | 3 pieces | 53 |
Later, they should be cooked in boiling water with salt so that acetylcholine, the element that produces itching, is deactivated.
Cochayuyo is another traditional ingredient from Chile that has lost popularity in younger generations. This algae was commonly used in many Chilean indigenous dishes, and it only grows on the coasts of Chile and New Zealand. Its name means 'sea turnip' in Quechua, the language of the group of indigenous people who settled in the Andes Mountains and occupied the area of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Since it is also a good source of iodine, iron, magnesium, and antioxidants, the Chilean government is trying to bring it back to the tables of Chilean families and is promoting it as a super food.
In the table, you can find traditional Latin American foods with the highest calcium content that is easily absorbed.
Other Latin American ingredients with 30-40 mg of calcium per portion that can add to your calcium intake include eggplant, tamarind pulp, carrots, blackberries, lupin beans, black beans, red kidney beans, nixtamalized corn flour, green onions, pigeon peas, dried apricots, lentils, Jamaica or Hibiscus flowers, walnuts, and guavas.
You can find flavorsome Latin American dishes high in calcium and with a low oxalate content in the table on page 28. All dishes are made with vegan ingredients.
If you would like to try other delicious Latin American recipes traditionally made with dairy products, eggs, or meat, you can substitute these with their vegan counterparts, which can also help you to meet your calcium requirement. In fact, calcium-fortified plant milks, orange juice, and tofu (prepared with calcium sulfate) are other ways to help you meet your calcium requirement since they contain 200-300 mg of calcium per serving (1 cup for the beverages and 1/2 cup for tofu).1 Even in Latin America where we are not very used to consuming these products, we can find them in many supermarkets (usually near the international or organic products sections.) With the increasing number of vegan and vegetarian stores, you might be lucky to spot one near you, and have fun trying different brands of these unusual products! If you live in the U.S., you probably can find these products more easily.
As you can see, there are plenty of Latin American ingredients and dishes that you can use to take care of your bone health in a flavorful, fun, and varied way. With the ingredients and ideas provided above you can have fun creating your own Latin American varieties, just as these incredible dishes were created slowly through time by someone eager to try new flavors with the resources that the Earth provided. Enjoy!
A longer version of this article, more calcium information, and references for this article can be found at vrg.org/nutrition/foods_calcium.htm
Odette is from Mexico and recently completed her masters in nutrition and health at Wageningen University, The Netherlands. She wrote this article under the supervision of Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, while interning with The VRG.
