Additionally, half of all women over 50 will fracture their hip, wrist, or spine during their lifetime, according to the National Institutes of Health. Harold Rosen, director of the Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Center at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Foods rich in calcium and vitamin D go a long way toward maintaining bone strength. But exercise — especially activities that make you move your own body weight against gravity — also stimulates bones to get stronger and stay that way.

That said, older adults at higher risk of bone-eroding osteoporosis should probably ignore trendy advice to engage in so-called jump training or high-impact activities requiring you to pound the ground, says Dr.

Harold Rosen, director of the Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Rosen says.

A lot of older people also have shoulder or knee problems — I don't think they help themselves by pounding on their bones.

Low-impact alternatives can also keep bones strong — and more safely, he says. These include. Unlike prunes, most foods and drinks notable for bolstering bone health do the trick with calcium, a major component of bones.

The mineral works best when paired with vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium. It's normal for bone to break down and rebuild itself in a continuous process called remodeling. As the bones release stored calcium into the bloodstream to carry out body functions ranging from blood clotting to muscle contractions and more, we replenish the supply with the calcium we eat and drink.

Our bone mass reaches its peak when we're around age 30, and it remains steady for about the next two decades. But after menopause, we lose bone more quickly than our bodies can replace it. And aging in general can prompt our body to leach calcium from bones. It's well known that top sources for calcium include dairy products such as milk, yogurt, and cheese, along with dark leafy greens such as collards, kale, Swiss chard, and broccoli.

Breakfast cereals and fruit juices are often fortified with the mineral as well. Dried figs. Two figs contain about 65 milligrams mg of calcium. Like prunes and perhaps even tastier than their cousin , figs can be sliced over oatmeal or blended into smoothies.

They also work well paired with cheese and even as a pizza topping. Canned salmon. A 3-ounce serving has mg of calcium. It's so rich in the mineral because canned salmon includes tiny, soft bones that you likely won't even notice, Dr.

It's easy to mix canned salmon with mayonnaise to make a sandwich spread as you would with tuna or whip it up into a dip. Plant milks. We automatically think of cow's milk as a solid calcium source, and with good reason.

But milk made from almonds, rice, or soy is typically fortified to reach a calcium level similar to its dairy counterpart: 8 ounces contains to mg. Check labels, and also watch out for sugar that might be added to plant milk.

This soy-based mainstay of Asian cuisine boasts mg of calcium in a 4-ounce serving, while calcium-enriched versions often have double that amount.

Soy foods, which include edamame, are generally high in calcium, Dr. Rosen says, as well as an important source of protein — also important to bone health.

Almonds and almond butter. Known for their heart-health benefits, almonds are easy to love though calorie-dense. A half-cup of the nuts alone has mg of calcium, while 2 tablespoons of almond butter contains mg of calcium.

White canned beans. Check the ingredient list to see which form of calcium your calcium supplement is and what other nutrients it may contain. This information is important if you have any health or dietary concerns.

Elemental calcium is important because it's the actual amount of calcium in the supplement. It's what your body absorbs for bone growth and other health benefits. The Supplement Facts label on calcium supplements is helpful in determining how much calcium is in one serving.

Be sure to note the serving size number of tablets when determining how much calcium is in one serving. Calcium supplements cause few, if any, side effects. But side effects can sometimes occur, including gas, constipation and bloating.

In general, calcium carbonate is the most constipating. You may need to try a few different brands or types of calcium supplements to find one that you tolerate the best.

Calcium supplements can interact with many different prescription medications, including blood pressure medications, synthetic thyroid hormones, bisphosphonates, antibiotics and calcium channel blockers.

Depending on your medications, you may need to take the supplement with your meals or between meals. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about possible interactions and which type of calcium supplement would work for you. Manufacturers are responsible for ensuring that supplements are safe and claims are truthful.

Some companies have their products independently tested by U. Pharmacopeial Convention USP , ConsumerLab. com CL or NSF International. Supplements that bear the USP , CL or NSF abbreviation meet voluntary industry standards for quality, purity, potency, and tablet disintegration or dissolution.

Different types of calcium supplements have different costs. Comparison shop if cost is a factor for you. Calcium supplements are available in a variety of forms, including tablets, capsules, chews, liquids and powders. If you have trouble swallowing pills, you may want a chewable or liquid calcium supplement.

Your body must be able to absorb the calcium for it to be effective. All varieties of calcium supplements are better absorbed when taken in small doses mg or less at mealtimes. Calcium citrate is absorbed equally well when taken with or without food and is a form recommended for individuals with low stomach acid more common in people over 50 or taking acid blockers , inflammatory bowel disease or absorption disorders.

Dietary calcium is generally safe, but more isn't necessarily better, and excessive calcium doesn't provide extra bone protection. If you take calcium supplements and eat calcium-fortified foods, you may be getting more calcium than you realize. Check food and supplement labels to monitor how much total calcium you're getting a day and whether you're achieving the RDA but not exceeding the recommended upper limit.

Be sure to tell your doctor if you're taking calcium supplements. There is a problem with information submitted for this request. Sign up for free and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips, current health topics, and expertise on managing health. Click here for an email preview.

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Show references Calcium and vitamin D: Important at every age. National Institutes of Health. Accessed Oct. Natural Medicines. Calcium fact sheet for professionals.

Office of Dietary Supplements. Rosen HN. Calcium and vitamin D supplementation in osteoporosis. Department of Health and Human Services and U. Department of Agriculture. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Scientific report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee: Advisory report to the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. What people with celiac disease need to know about osteoporosis. NIH Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases National Resource Center.

Dietary supplements verification program. Pharmacopeial Convention. About ConsumerLab. What is third-party certification? NSF International. Products and Services Nutritional Supplements at Mayo Clinic Store The Mayo Clinic Diet Online A Book: The Mayo Clinic Diet Bundle.

See also Timing calcium supplements COVID and vitamin D Can vitamins help prevent a heart attack?

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Financial Assistance Documents — Arizona. Financial Assistance Documents — Florida. Financial Assistance Documents — Minnesota. Follow Mayo Clinic. Rosen warns. To figure out how much protein you need, multiply your weight in pounds by 0. For example, a pound person would need to eat about 61 grams of protein per day × 0.

That may sound like a lot, but protein adds up quickly if you eat the right foods. For example, a breakfast of one-and-a-half cups of bran cereal with a cup of skim milk starts you out with 14 grams of protein.

A midmorning snack of half a cup of low-fat cottage cheese and some blueberries adds another 12 grams. For lunch, a small spinach salad with half a cup of cooked lentils and 3 ounces of salmon or chicken gives you another 30 grams. You get a two-for-one benefit when you eat proteins that are also calcium-rich.

Examples include canned salmon with the bones or sardines, beans, dairy products cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, milk , leafy greens, and nuts. And the best way to ensure healthy bones is not only eating right but also maintaining a healthy lifestyle that includes daily weight-bearing exercise such as brisk walking and weight training , limiting alcohol intake, and not smoking.

All of those lifestyle habits are linked to another benefit: warding off chronic disease. Heidi Godman , Executive Editor, Harvard Health Letter. As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content.

Please note the date of last review or update on all articles. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.

Each year, osteoporosis contributes to more than 2 million bone fractures in the United States. This Special Health Report, Osteoporosis: A guide to prevention and treatment , can help you keep your bones strong and healthy, and avoid fractures. It describes how you can prevent and treat osteoporosis through diet, exercise, and medications.

You'll also find advice on the right amount of calcium and vitamin D, tips on fall-proofing your home, and help with putting together a personalized plan to preserve or boost your bone strength. Thanks for visiting. Don't miss your FREE gift. The Best Diets for Cognitive Fitness , is yours absolutely FREE when you sign up to receive Health Alerts from Harvard Medical School.

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If you enjoy a healthy, balanced diet, you're probably getting everything you need. This is all about eating meals that have foods from the four main food groups:. For more information about these food groups and how much of each you need, take a look at The Eatwell Guide.

We read so much in the media about what is good for our bones and this can be confusing. Professor Sue Lanham-New explains what the latest research tells us about nutrition and bone health. This film is part of our BoneMatters series of events. Please allow all cookies to watch this film. Leading osteoporosis experts Professor David Armstrong, Professor Geeta Hampson and Dr Madhavi Vindlacheruvu answer common questions about how eating and drinking the right things can support your bone health at every stage of your life, as part of our BoneMatters series of events.

Nutrition for bones.

Gallagher, and C. Suiter, Medium doses of daily vitamin D decrease falls and higher doses of daily vitamin D3 increase falls: A randomized clinical trial. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol, Maturitas, A recent expert consensus found that in seniors with osteoporosis, dietary protein intake above currently recommended levels may help to reduce bone loss and fracture risk, especially at the hip, provided calcium intakes are adequate [17] Rizzoli, R.

In patients who have sustained an osteoporosis fracture, sufficient protein intake helps to decrease medical complications following fracture. Intervention studies using an oral dietary preparation that normalizes protein intake can improve the clinical outcome after hip fracture [2] Feldblum, I.

Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab, and reduce the length of stay for rehabilitation in hospital [19] Schurch, M. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Ann Intern Med, Fruits and vegetables contain an array of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and alkaline salts - some or all of which can have a beneficial effect on bone.

Studies have shown higher fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with beneficial effects on bone density in elderly men and women while less than 5 servings per day may be a risk factor for hip fractures [20] Lin, P.

J Nutr, PLoS One, Bauer, J. Feldblum, I. Munger, R. Rizzoli, R. Hickson, M. Kanis, J. Harvey, N. Tang, B. Weaver, C. Bischoff-Ferrari, H. Sanders, K. Smith, H. Smith, L. Schurch, M. Eating foods that have a lot of salt sodium causes your body to lose calcium and can lead to bone loss.

Try to limit the amount of processed foods, canned foods and salt added to the foods you eat each day. To learn if a food is high in sodium, look at the Nutrition Facts label. Aim to get no more than 2, mg of sodium per day.

Other foods with oxalates are rhubarb, beet greens and certain beans. Like beans, wheat bran contains high levels of phytates which can prevent your body from absorbing calcium.

The wheat bran in other foods like breads is much less concentrated and not likely to have a noticeable impact on calcium absorption. Coffee, tea and soft drinks sodas contain caffeine, which may decrease calcium absorption and contribute to bone loss.

Choose these drinks in moderation. Drinking more than three cups of coffee every day may interfere with calcium absorption and cause bone loss. Some studies suggest that colas, but not other soft drinks, are associated with bone loss.

While more research will help us to better understand the link between soft drinks and bone health, here is what we know:. To learn more about other foods that may be good for your bones, visit PubMed. gov , an online service of the US National Library of Medicine, to find research studies on nutrition and bone health.

Learn how to eat healthy with MyPlate and discover budget-friendly food ideas here. Join our community to learn more about osteoporosis, or connect with others near you who are suffering from the disease. Membership in BHOF will help build your practice, keep your team informed, provide CME credits, and allow you access to key osteoporosis experts.

Food For Thought Quiz How do you get your recommended daily amount of calcium? Dairy Non-dairy food sources fish, vegetables, etc. Fortified foods orange juice with calcium, etc. The researchers, who tracked older women for a year, speculated that the daily handful of prunes lowered inflammatory chemicals that contribute to bone breakdown.

After menopause, women tend to lose bone density quickly and are far more likely than men to develop bone-weakening osteoporosis. About three-quarters of all broken hips happen to women; that injury dramatically increases the odds of losing your independence and dying earlier.

Additionally, half of all women over 50 will fracture their hip, wrist, or spine during their lifetime, according to the National Institutes of Health. Harold Rosen, director of the Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Center at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Foods rich in calcium and vitamin D go a long way toward maintaining bone strength. But exercise — especially activities that make you move your own body weight against gravity — also stimulates bones to get stronger and stay that way.

That said, older adults at higher risk of bone-eroding osteoporosis should probably ignore trendy advice to engage in so-called jump training or high-impact activities requiring you to pound the ground, says Dr.

Harold Rosen, director of the Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Rosen says. A lot of older people also have shoulder or knee problems — I don't think they help themselves by pounding on their bones.

Low-impact alternatives can also keep bones strong — and more safely, he says. These include. Unlike prunes, most foods and drinks notable for bolstering bone health do the trick with calcium, a major component of bones. The mineral works best when paired with vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium.

It's normal for bone to break down and rebuild itself in a continuous process called remodeling. As the bones release stored calcium into the bloodstream to carry out body functions ranging from blood clotting to muscle contractions and more, we replenish the supply with the calcium we eat and drink.

Our bone mass reaches its peak when we're around age 30, and it remains steady for about the next two decades. But after menopause, we lose bone more quickly than our bodies can replace it.

And aging in general can prompt our body to leach calcium from bones. It's well known that top sources for calcium include dairy products such as milk, yogurt, and cheese, along with dark leafy greens such as collards, kale, Swiss chard, and broccoli.

Breakfast cereals and fruit juices are often fortified with the mineral as well. Dried figs. Two figs contain about 65 milligrams mg of calcium. Like prunes and perhaps even tastier than their cousin , figs can be sliced over oatmeal or blended into smoothies.