When you are young, your body builds new bone faster than it breaks down old bone, which increases bone mass. However, as we age, bone mass is lost faster than it is created, and bones can become weaker. Age is not the only factor. Gender, race, family history, and body size also affect bone health. Fortunately, some bone loss cannot be completely prevented over time, but there are ways to strengthen bones and slow bone aging.
What you eat and drink can play an important role in bone health. This includes incorporating more bone-healthy minerals into your diet. Not only what you eat is important, but what you drink is also important.we talked Brittany Dunn, MS, RDN, CDand members of our Medical Expert Panel, Drinking habits that help keep bones healthy and prevent aging.
According to Dunn (and honestly, your mother), drinking milk is one good way to get important nutrients to your bones.
“Fortified milk and milk substitutes provide vitamin D, calcium, and protein to support bone health,” says Dunn.
Fortified milk is milk that contains extra vitamins and minerals not found in regular milk. If you are lactose intolerant or don’t like milk, you can find milk alternatives that contain extra vitamins. Includes plant-based milk options such as
How do you know if milk has been fortified? You should be able to tell from the label. And for those who don’t like any of these milk options, Dan recommends kefir, a probiotic-filled “drinking yogurt.”
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Don’t worry if your milk isn’t “straight”. There are other ways to mix milk with your meals. Adding certain dairy products to your smoothie is a great way to help maintain bone health, says Dunn.
Options like low-fat milk, yogurt, and fortified soy milk are all great sources of calcium, vitamin D, and protein, all of which are great for developing strong bones!
according to the magazine nutrition todayProtein makes up about 50% of bone volume and about one-third of bone mass. Also, dietary protein is an important nutrient for bone health, so it may help prevent osteoporosis.
If you can’t eat dairy at all, fortunately there are other ways to get your calcium.
“Spinach and other leafy green vegetables are great sources of calcium,” says Dan, adding that spinach is a particularly good leafy green to add to smoothies. You can still enjoy the nutritional benefits.
However, spinach contains large amounts of oxalic acid, she warns. Oxalate is a natural compound that binds calcium and can lead to the formation of kidney stones.
Another great leafy green to consider adding to your diet as an alternative to spinach is kale. Most people recommend 2,500 mg of calcium per day. A half cup of kale (100 mg) contains 254 mg of calcium, which is 10% of his daily intake and is a great source of calcium, even in smoothies.
According to Dunn, the fruit acts as a great digestive equalizer that supports balanced pH levels and helps maintain calcium levels.
One fruit that is particularly useful for improving bone health is prunes. Eating about 6 to 12 prunes per day may contribute to bone loss in postmenopausal women, according to a study published by Pennsylvania State University’s Integrative Biomedical Physiology Program and Department of Nutritional Sciences and Kinesiology. If the thought of prunes makes you sick, try drinking fortified orange juice. It contains 350 mg of calcium, which is about 25% of his daily intake. As a bonus, it’s chock-full of vitamin C, another key nutrient for maintaining bone health.Just one serving gives him 100% of his recommended daily intake. increase. Again, combining fruit into a smoothie maximizes the benefits of each ingredient—it doesn’t even taste like a prune!
Kayla Garitano
Kayla Garritano is a staff writer for Eat This, Not That! She graduated from Hofstra University where she majored in journalism and minored in marketing and creative writing.read more
