FOOD FOR THE BONES

We can nourish our bones with how and what we eat. And there are a few pieces to this puzzle.

We probably know about calcium for bone health. This mineral is essential – and we need to keep our intake up, the older we get. We also need vitamins D and K. Dairy products are the all-stars here, if your body tolerates them: milk, yoghurt and cheese are a really e icient way to get calcium in particular.

If dairy is not your thing, there are other ways to get what our bones need – but you’ll need to put some focus on this. Try stacking up your diet with a combination of these foods:

FORTIFIED FOODS: there are plenty of plant-based milks, cereals and other foods that have calcium and vitamin D added, and these can be really useful substitutes for dairy foods.

NUTS AND SEEDS: are a good source of calcium; especially almonds, which have about 100 milligrams in ¼ cup.

BEANS AND LEGUMES: have small but useful amounts of calcium. A bonus, on top of their other great features.

TOFU AND TEMPEH: are useful sources of calcium on top of the protein they contain. SARDINES: are a bit unfashionable, but they’re tasty. And they have some pretty useful calcium, vitamin D and omega-3. So do other canned fish where you eat the bones. If you eat fish, add these into your week.

LEAFY GREENS: spinach, kale, silverbeet, bok choy, etc. contain calcium, magnesium and vitamin K, which helps with calcium absorption.

SALMON: and other oily fish are sources of vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids, which help enhance calcium absorption and support bone health.

Another important nutrient is protein. It’s crucial for building muscle and bone, and as we get older, we become a bit less e icient at using the protein we’re eating. Again, for women this is accelerated by that hormonal change. So, we might need to consume a bit more protein than we’re used to, to give ourselves the best chance of making the most of it. Current advice suggests aiming for around 1.6 grams of protein per kilo of body weight – or more – is a good goal.

In recent research, it’s been found that higher protein intakes are useful for bone health, especially as we age, since keeping our bones strong and dense is highly dependent on also maintaining our muscle, which is in turn dependent on getting enough protein. It has been suggested by researchers that protein is ‘as essential as calcium and vitamin D for bone health and osteoporosis prevention’. And higher-protein diets are associated with greater bone mass and fewer fractures, as long as calcium intake is adequate. So perhaps making sure that some of your protein is coming from dairy is a good idea.