6 more reasons to love ice cream: Calcium is a powerhouse of health benefits. It even helps you shed belly fat and maintain muscle mass - Healthy Appetites

Natural Health, Jan, 2004 by Kathleen Doheny

soothing PMS

Calcium now seems to have a role in resolving mood swings, bloating and other annoying premenstrual symptoms. In a review of several studies, published in Canadian Family Physician, the authors say there is enough data for doctors to recommend 1,200 mg of calcium daily as an effective PMS treatment.

Some women who have tried it see a "modest benefit," says Lori Dickerson, Pharm.D., an associate professor of family medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, who reviewed PMS treatments in American Family Physician. There are similarities between PMS symptoms and those caused by low calcium levels.

preventing kidney stones

The fear of anyone who's had a kidney stone is that another one will develop. To reduce the risk, doctors have traditionally recommended a low-calcium diet. But in a five-year study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, that compared an adequate calcium diet (about 1,200 mg a day) to a low-calcium diet (400 mg) on 120 men with recurrent kidney stones, the subjects on the low-calcium diet were twice as likely to get kidney stones as those who ate the high-calcium diet. Patients who have had kidney stones are advised to check with their doctors as to whether to limit their dietary calcium.

calcium consciousness

Getting enough calcium isn't as difficult as it may sound, says Tammi Hancock, R.D., the dietitian who developed the calcium-rich recipes in Zemel's book, The Calcium Key.

First, set your goal. Adults need 1,000 mg of calcium a day, and those age 50 and older need at least 1,200 mg a day, according to the latest government guidelines. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that postmenopausal women who are not on hormones get 1,500 mg of calcium a day for bone maintenance. If concern about bone loss isn't motivation enough for you to get more calcium-rich foods into your day, perhaps knowing it might prevent heart disease, cancer and obesity will spur you to action.

If you need further encouragement, try the delightful smoothie recipes above. They're as good as ice cream.

cherry almond smoothie

3/4 cup frozen sweet cherries
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 tablespoon sugar (or Splenda)
3/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
3-4 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in a blender.
Blend until smooth. Serves 1.

PER SERVING: 223 calories, 386 mg
calcium, 3 g fiber, 3% calories from fat.

berry berry berry smoothie

1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
3/4 cup fresh strawberries
1/2 tablespoon sugar (or Splenda)
3/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
3-4 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in a
blender. Blend until smooth.
Serves 1.

PER SERVING: 230 calories, 399 mg
calcium, 9 g fiber, 5% calories from fat.

Recipes from The Calcium Key,
copyright [C] 2003 by Michael Zemel, Ph.D., and Bill
Gottlieb. Reprinted by permission of John Wiley & Sons.

RELATED ARTICLE: The calcium connection.

If you are lactose-intolerant: Yogurt with active cultures may be tolerated by those who are unable to digest lactose, the predominant sugar in milk. The yogurt cultures produce some of the lactase enzyme needed to digest lactose, according to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. Two 8-ounce cartons of nonfat plain yogurt have about 900 milligrams of calcium. A cup and a half of calcium-fortified orange juice delivers 450 mg. Total: 1,350 mg.