You may be getting less calcium than you think if you're in one of the following two groups, new research shows.

Soy milk drinkers.
If you drink a typical calcium-fortified soy milk, you absorb 25% less of the calcium than you would if you drank cow's milk, according to tests performed at Creighton University in Omaha, NE (Amer. Jour. of Clinical Nutrition, May 2000). What to do? To get as much calcium as a glass of milk (300 mg), drink enough soy milk to give you 500 mg of calcium, says study author Robert Heaney, MD, an international calcium expert.

Low-fat, high-fiber eaters.
If you follow a low-fat, high-fiber diet, you may be absorbing 19% less calcium than someone whose meals are cheeseburgers and fries (Amer. Jour. of Clinical Nutrition, Aug 2000). What's going on? Could be that a healthy diet speeds food through your gastrointestinal tract, so there's less time for calcium to be absorbed, says Dr. Heaney.

This study needs confirming. "But it's certainly a heads up for healthy eaters to make extra certain that they meet their daily calcium intake goals," he advises. That's 1,000 mg under age 50 and 1,200 mg at 50-plus. And don't even think about giving up your low-fat diet!