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Nutrition for Bone Health
A healthy diet which includes foods that are rich in calcium and other bone-building nutrients, such as dairy foods, can make a big difference to your bone health.
Calcium
Calcium is the most common mineral in your body, with about 99% of your calcium found in your bones and teeth. Calcium is necessary for:
- building your bone mass,
- growing normally, and
- developing and maintaining the strength and structure of your bones.
Calcium also plays a role in:
- the normal clotting of your blood, to ensure you stop bleeding after a cut or nose-bleed;
- regulating insulin levels, which helps the body effectively use the sugar from the food we eat; and
- keeping your nervous system and muscles functioning normally (including maintaining a normal heartbeat).
Calcium is the central building block of bones. Bones also act as a storage bank for calcium. If you do not get enough calcium in your diet your body takes calcium from your bones to use for other important functions in your body. The body loses calcium every day through shedding skin, hair and nails, sweat, urine and losses from the stomach and intestines.
The amount of calcium the body requires every day varies throughout life. The body has greater needs for calcium during the times when it is growing rapidly (such as in childhood and adolescence), and then in later adult years, because as you get older bone loss increases.
Other Bone-building Nutrients
It is well known that calcium plays a very important role in building and maintaining strong bones, but there are also a number of other bone-building nutrients that can help to make your bones stronger. These include:
- Vitamin D - helps absorb calcium from the food and drink we consume.
- Protein - helps to build and repair bone.
- Phosphorus - essential for the formation and maintenance of strong bones.
- Potassium - can help to make bones stronger.
- Magnesium - helps to control calcium levels in bone.
- Zinc - plays a role in regulating bone growth and repair.
These bone-building nutrients (with the exception of Vitamin D) can all be found naturally in calcium-rich dairy foods.