Before age 25, especially around the time of puberty and early adulthood, we can make bigger, thicker bones through weightbearing exercise and good nutrition.Learn more: Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatmentīone can get either stronger or weaker over time, depending on how we take care of it. You are never too old or too young to improve your bone health. We cannot change our genes, but we can control our nutrition and activity level and, if necessary, take osteoporosis medications. Learn more: Calcium, Nutrition, and Bone HealthĪs we age, our bones are affected by genetics, nutrition, exercise, and hormonal loss. Calcium supplements can also help if you generally avoid dairy products. Osteoporosis, the most common bone disease, can be worsened by a lack of calcium and other minerals.ĭairy products like yogurt and cheese, as well as cereals, soy products, and green leafy vegetables, are great sources of calcium. If we do not have enough calcium in our diets to supply calcium to all the body cells that need it, calcium is removed from the skeleton. Learn more: Vitamin D for Good Bone Health Vitamin D is also needed to help bone-forming cells mineralize bone proteins into a hard tissue. The skeleton is our body's major storage bank for calcium, and Vitamin D helps our bodies effectively absorb calcium from our diets. Without these nutrients, our bones can become weak and more likely to break.Ĭalcium and Vitamin D are well known for the important role they play in building strong bones. Vitamins D, K, and A are also needed for normal bone metabolism. Good nutrition is essential to ensuring that the body has the protein, minerals, and vitamins needed to make and regenerate bone.Ĭalcium, phosphorus, zinc, and magnesium are necessary minerals that must come from our diets. The good news: No matter how old we are, there are many things we can do to prevent bone loss and even build new bone. Doctors, however, can now provide treatment for people who have or are at risk of developing weak bone.Īccording to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), half of all Americans over age 50 have weak bones. Proper nutrition and exercise are important to bone health but cannot solve this metabolic problem. We now know that some people are at higher risk for osteoporosis (thinning of the bones) because their bone metabolism causes excessive bone loss and does not support sufficient rebuilding of bone. Most important, we have learned about bone metabolism and how bone constantly changes, rebuilding itself throughout our lives. In the last 15 years, we have learned a great deal more about bones - the way they work, grow, rebuild, weaken, and break. Calcium is a mineral necessary not only for building and maintaining strong bones, but also for the function of all the cells in our bodies. They protect our organs and store and release our supply of calcium. Bones give our bodies support, allowing us to use our muscles to walk, ride a bike, and hold a child.

Human skeleton sketch basic