Revista de Medicina Desportiva (English) January 2019 | Page 20

Food consumption of Portuguese
(calcium, sodium and alcohol)
ingestion is insufficient on 60,6% of
the women, 47% on men, highlight-
ing that 60,2% are on old people and
74,6% on women from 10 to 17 years
of age.
Regarding salt, on average, the
Portuguese consume 7,4gr of salt
per day. Approximately 3,7 millions
The results of the National Food
Inquiry and Physical Activity (2015-
2016) showed that calcium is the
less consumed micronutrient in
relation to the average needs; its
Table 2. Recommendations for calcium ingestion
  Calcium mg/day
  Men and women
Age
Daily recommendation (mg/day)* Maximum tolerable dose (mg/day)***
19-50 years 1000 mg 2500 mg
51-70 years 1000 mg 2000 mg
≥71 years 1200 mg 2000 mg
*RDA – Recommended Dietary Allowance – value that satisfies 97,5% of the needs of a healthy population
**UL – Tolerable Upper Intake Levels – maximum daily ingestion with low probability to cause side effects
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority 2015)
  Calcium mg/day
  Men and women
Age
Daily recommendation (mg/day)* Maximum tolerable dose (mg/day) 
15-17 years 1150 mg No value indicated by EFSA.
18-24 years 1000 mg No value indicated by EFSA.
≥25 years 950 mg No value indicated by EFSA.
*PRIs – Population Reference Intakes – adequate level of ingestion for 97-97% of the population
Food and Nutrition Board/Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2010
of women (63,2%) and 4,4 millions
of men (88,9%) has an ingestion
above the maximum tolerated level
(average 2962mg / day) regarding
the WHO recommendation, which is
2000mg / day.
In relation to alcohol beverages,
Portugal still has a high prevalence of
consumption. The average between
the consumers of alcohol beverages
is 340mg / day for men and 100mg /
day for women.
Facing these national results
and taking into consideration the
recommendations of the specialized
institutions (Table 2), and also the
factors that influence the calcium
absorption and the bone mass
health (Table 1), we rapidly recog-
nize that the Portuguese population
should improve the food habits.
The ingestion of calcium rich foods
(Table 3) is a simple measure and
with significant impact. Together
with other behavior strategies it will
be an important contribution for
prevention of osteoporosis, helping
to maximize the bone density, parti-
cularly on children and adolescents,
delaying the loss of bone during the
adult age.
Food recommendations for a good
bone health
Table 3. Foods rich on calcium

Miligrames (mg)
of calcium /
dose*
Percentage of
VRN**
Soya bean drink enriched in calcium 250ml*** 400mg 50%
Canned whole sardine 80g (drained weight) 380mg 47,5%
Milk of cow 250ml enriched in calcium (lean or medium) 350mg 43,8%
Cow’s milk 250ml (lean or medium) 250mg 35%
Cheese 30g (30% fat) 250mg 32%
50g cottage cheese (13% protein) 240mg 30%
Skin solid yogurt 125g 200mg 25%
Cooked cauliflower 100g 264mg 33%
Grilled sea bass 150g 174mg 21%
Simple Tofu 100g 128mg 16%
Turnips of cooked turnips 100g 106mg 13%
Broccoli 100g (boiled) 67mg 8%
Ground cinnamon 5g 60mg 7,5%
Orange 150g 52mg 6,5%
Cooked green beans 100g 41mg 5%
Almond 10g (kernel with skin) 40mg 5%
* Table of the Portuguese Food Composition
** The Nutrient Reference Value (VRN) is legally established by Regulation (UE) nº 1169/2011 of
the European Parliament and Council of 25 of October de 2011 related to the information for the
consumers about the food kinds. At published date the value indicated was 800mg of calcium.
*** The Soya bean drink enriched in calcium has good bioavailability for calcium when compared
with cow’s milk.
18 january 2019 www.revdesportiva.pt
• To daily include foods rich on
calcium on the diet throughout
life (sometimes supplementation
might be needed)
• To daily consume 2 to 3 portions
of skin milk or skin dairy products
• To daily consume five portions of
fruits and vegetables
• To guarantee the adequate
ingestion of vitamin D (salmon,
sardines, tuna fish, eggs, liver, sun
exposure and supplementation)
• To guarantee the adequate inges-
tion
• To guarantee the adequate
ingestion of vitamin C (fruit) and
vitamin K (vegetables with green
leaf, liver and fish)
• To limit the ingestion of salt
(maximum of 5gr per day, this is,
2000gr of sodium)
• To moderate or to abstain the
ingestion of alcoholic beverages