Calcium question
 

I am really drawn to the paleo woe.
Dairy is my downfall. I believe that a woe that includes ONLY hunter/gatherer foods has to be the best for us, but i was wondering about calcium
How do those who forego dairy get enough calcium?

Despite the marketing, dairy is not the best source for calcium. I really don't think humans were meant to eat dairy as adults.

Check out the calcium content in your favorite vegetables. You'll be pleaasantly surprised. Fruits, too, if you are including them.

There are also all manner of supplements- chocolates, gummies, chews, not to mention the regular old pills.

I looked up the calcium value in spinach which is my favorite green and was very surprised by the amount in one cup.
I do take a multi vitamin daily but I don't believe in taking supplements as a substitute for real food nutrition.
I see that those green leafy veggies are potent sources of all kind of essential nutrients.

I think the whole dietary calcium requirement is overblown. Your body will extract calcium it needs from the foods you do eat. Vitamin D status is also very important. I agree with the PP, dairy is not actually a good source. I believe the latest research shows that calcium supplementation can actually be harmful. If you want to eat a good source of calcium, try whole sardines (with bones).

Dairy is actually a pretty poor source of calcium. Consider this, milk is acidic in the body. The body then leaches calcium out of our bones in order to neutralize the acid. More calcium is leached out of our bones in an effort to neutralize the milk than milk actually contains. This makes it actually a negative on the calcium scale (i.e. if milk has 5 grm calcium, but your body leaches out 8 grams to neutralize it, you are negative 3). Studies show that the countries that consume the most dairy have the highest percentage of adults with hip fractures and problems with brittle bones. Countries that consume no dairy (or almost no dairy), but high concentrations of veggies (especially greens) have almost no incidence of hip fractures or brittle bones as adults age.
To sum up, eat lots of greens, leave off the dairy and have healthy bones!

Yes, it's pretty clear to me now that the calcium I require is best gotten by eating alot of greens. This is no problem for me....I don't quite get the "serving" concept, but I have a bag in the freezer filled with some combination of Kale, collards, and spinach. I eat two "handfulls" of these greens everyday.
I have cut way down on my dairy, but have not eliminated it completely.
One thing I can never see going without is HWC in coffee.
I don't know if coffee is allowed on a paleo plan, but it's one of my great dietary pleasures and I have no plans to eliminate it. I am open though to another kind of "cream"
thanks for the input.

I gave up cream in my coffee. That was easier than I thought it would be. I thought giving up cheese might just kill me but it didn't.

I am now giving up my beloved Smucker's peanut butter. I faced the fact that I don't need it after reading more info on Paleo/primal sites about why it is not good for us.

I just keep eliminating things. Not a whole lot left. At least the stuff that is left is good!