Healthy Bones - 12 Foods You Need

12 Foods to Boost Bone Health

Getting the calcium and vitamin D you need is easier than you think -- if you eat the right foods and the best food to start with is breakfast!

According to WebMD:

Though experts haven't yet agreed on the ideal amount for people with osteoporosis, your doctor may advise up to 1,500 milligrams of calcium a day. "With osteoporosis, the general advice is to take three doses of 500 milligrams of elemental calcium a day," says Paul Mystkowski, MD, an endocrinologist at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, and clinical faculty member at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Why three separate doses? Because 500 milligrams is all your body can absorb at one time. So for strong bones, get your calcium throughout the day via your meals, then, if necessary, add a calcium supplement to make up the difference.


Though experts haven't yet agreed on the ideal amount for people with osteoporosis, your doctor may advise up to 1,500 milligrams of calcium a day. "With osteoporosis, the general advice is to take three doses of 500 milligrams of elemental calcium a day," says Paul Mystkowski, MD, an endocrinologist at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, and clinical faculty member at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Why three separate doses? Because 500 milligrams is all your body can absorb at one time. So for strong bones, get your calcium throughout the day via your meals, then, if necessary, add a calcium supplement to make up the difference.

Breakfast Foods

Cereal, calcium-fortified, 1 cup
100 - 1000 Calcium (mg)

Soy milk, calcium-fortified, 8 ounces
80 - 500 Calcium (mg)

Milk (nonfat, 2%, whole, or lactose-reduced), 1 cup
300 Calcium (mg)

Yogurt, 1 cup
300 - 400 Calcium (mg)

Orange juice, calcium-fortified
200 - 340 Calcium (mg)

Bone Health and Vitamin D

The experts all agree: Don't forget your vitamin D. You need it to absorb the calcium from all those calcium-rich foods.

Your skin normally makes vitamin D from sunlight. "But as people age," says Mystkowski, "their skin doesn't convert vitamin D as well." So while the standard recommended daily allowance (RDA) for adults is 400 IU of vitamin D, he advises taking even more when bone loss is a problem.

"I'd say most people with osteoporosis should be on 800 IU a day," says Mystkowski. And he advises even higher doses -- up to 1,200 IU of vitamin D a day -- if you have bone thinning and live in a climate without much sun. People with darker skin or who live in cities with intense air pollution absorb less vitamin D from sun, and may want to bump up their vitamin D, too.

Calcium-rich foods are often high in vitamin D. Sardines, herring, and salmon have high levels of vitamin D, and many calcium-enriched foods have vitamin D added. And it's an easy vitamin to supplement. "Vitamin D is a little bit easier to absorb, so you can usually get away with taking supplements once a day," says Mystkowski.

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