Your body relies on calcium to build strong bones and teeth, and the mineral also is required for your heart to beat normally. If you do not have enough calcium in your blood, this is a condition known as hypocalcemia, which can be life-threatening if your levels dip too low. Low blood calcium increases the need to take in more calcium in your daily diet. Understanding what food sources can help may serve to boost your calcium levels.

Significance

Hypocalcemia can be measured by a blood test to determine the amount of calcium in the blood. The normal value for calcium is 4.5 to 5.5 mEq/L, according to ChemoCare. If your calcium levels go lower than 4.5 mEq/L, you may start experiencing symptoms such as twitching muscles and numbness in your fingers and toes. While your physician will likely prescribe medications to help reduce hypocalcemia, he also will recommend increasing your calcium through diet to reduce the likelihood you will experience the long-term effects associated with hypocalcemia, including increased bone fracture risk and osteoporosis.

Foods With Calcium

Always talk with your physician about how much calcium you need in your daily diet. General recommendations are 1,000 mg per day for men between the ages 25 and 65 and 1,000 mg to 1,200 mg per day for women ages 25 to 50, according to ChemoCare. Dairy products naturally contain calcium. For example, 8 oz. of milk contain about 300 mg of calcium while 1 oz. of cheddar cheese contains 200 mg, according to ChemoCare. If you are lactose intolerant or do not prefer calcium-containing foods, you can eat tofu, greens, sardines, salmon, red beans and seaweed. All of these food products naturally contain calcium.

Fortified Foods

In addition to foods that naturally contain calcium, calcium also is added to foods -- a process known as fortification. Examples of foods that are commonly fortified include cereal and orange juice. Read food label packaging carefully to ensure the food you are eating has been fortified because not all orange juice and cereal products have calcium added to them.

Vitamin D

Your body requires vitamin D to absorb calcium in your stomach. If you have hypocalcemia, you must consume vitamin D-containing foods or take vitamin D-containing supplements in order to benefit from the added calcium in your diet. This can be problematic because vitamin D is not present in a significant number of foods. Examples of foods that contain vitamin D include cod liver oil, salmon, mackerel, sardines and egg yolks, according to the Office of Dietary Supplements. As with calcium, vitamin D can be fortified in foods such as yogurt, milk, orange juice and margarine.

Warning

While increasing calcium in your diet can help if you have hypocalcemia, there are some symptoms you cannot ignore if you experience them. This includes severe constipation that lasts more than two to three days. Nausea or vomiting that affects your ability to eat also can indicate the need to seek immediate treatment.