Nutrition for bone health

According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation half of all women and one-fourth of all men older than 50 will fracture a bone at some point due to osteoporosis, a condition characterized by weak or porous bones that break easily.

As you get older the need for healthy nutrition changes. You have got this far with the food you eat, but the body starts putting new challenges on us and what you eat can help face those challenges.

Bone density is an issue as we grow older and there are several ways we can assist our bodies to cope with this. Calcium is very much needed to keep our bones strong at any age, but there are certain things in our diet that can  interfere with your body’s ability to absorb calcium. Phytates and oxalates are two such things.

 Beans and wheat bran contains high levels of phytates which can prevent your body from absorbing calcium. However, unlike beans 100% wheat bran is the only food that appears to reduce the absorption of calcium in other foods eaten at the same time. For example, when you have milk and 100% wheat bran cereal together, your body can absorb some, but not all, of the calcium from the milk. The wheat bran in other foods like breads is much less concentrated and not likely to have a noticeable impact on calcium absorption.

Your body doesn’t absorb calcium well from foods that are high in oxalates (oxalic acid) such as spinach. Other foods with oxalates are rhubarb, beet greens and certain beans. These foods contain other healthy nutrients, but they just shouldn’t be counted as sources of calcium.

Protein is very important for good bone health, but too much protein can restrict calcium absorption so rather than having multiple servings of meat it is good to add some high calcium protein from low fat dairy products.

Eating foods that have a lot of salt (sodium) causes your body to lose calcium and can lead to bone density loss. Try to limit the amount of processed foods, canned foods and salt added to the foods you eat each day.

Alcohol and caffeine can also lead to bone loss

Middle age spread is something many over 50’s are challenged with and fat around one's middle is bad for bones. A study by doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital shows abdominal fat is associated with lower bone density.

So what is good to increase bone density?

 Nutritionally we need to make sure we get plenty of calcium and vitamin D. Vitamin D aids the absorption of calcium so is very important. Magnesium, Potassium, Vitamin C and Vitamin K are all essential for bone health.

Exercise is an essential part of keeping our bones and joints healthy, it helps to keep the blood circulation feeding muscles, bones and joints. Adapting your exercise to your capability is important, walking is extremely good to keeping active and can be done at your own pace. Yoga and Pilates is also very good to keeping active at any age. All exercise will help to keep belly fat down and keep you active for longer.

Get out in the sun to get your dose of vitamin D, but be careful of harmful rays on the skin. Use sun protection factor creams if in the sun long enough to burn. Eat oily fish which is one of the few foods that contain vit D.

Get some dairy in your diet unless lacto intolerant, chose low fat options and be conscious of eating too much saturated fats. All about the balance.

Foods to eat for good bone health

Food	Nutrient
Dairy products such as low-fat and non-fat milk, yogurt and cheese	Calcium. Some dairy products are fortified with Vitamin D.
Fish
Canned sardines and salmon (with bones)	Calcium
Fatty varieties such as salmon, mackerel, tuna and sardines	Vitamin D
Fruits and vegetables
Collard greens, turnip greens, kale, okra, Chinese cabbage, dandelion greens, mustard greens and broccoli.	Calcium
Spinach, beet greens, okra, tomato products, artichokes, plantains, potatoes, sweet potatoes, collard greens and raisins.	Magnesium
Tomato products, raisins, potatoes, spinach, sweet potatoes, papaya, oranges, orange juice, bananas, plantains and prunes.	Potassium
Red peppers, green peppers, oranges, grapefruits, broccoli, strawberries, brussels sprouts, papaya and pineapples.	Vitamin C
Dark green leafy vegetables such as kale, collard greens, spinach, mustard greens, turnip greens and brussel sprouts.	Vitamin K
Fortified Foods
Calcium and vitamin D are sometimes added to certain brands of juices, breakfast foods, soy milk, rice milk, cereals, snacks and breads.	Calcium, Vitamin D