Eating for Strong Healthy Bones

The saying "You are what you eat" certainly applies to your bones as well. It is important to maintain your body's skeletal structure by eating the right foods.

Bones are the body's foundation and strong, dense bones are essential for good posture, strength and balance. The quality of your skeletal structure also has a direct impact on your appearance and energy levels. Therefore, you should consider building strong, healthy bones as a lifelong concern. Bones consist of malleable, living tissue in a constant state of renewal and certain foods can help to maintain them.

Thinning and weakening of the bones is not an inevitable aspect of aging. Loss of bone density, inflexibility and osteoporosis can be prevented and possibly reversed with a good diet and lifestyle.

Two of the easiest ways a achieve these goals are to include regular weight-bearing exercise in your daily routine (such as walking, skipping and tennis) and eating more of the foods that contain the nutrients necessary for healthy bones.

Your dietary needs change throughout your life as your body changes and develops. It is important for children and teenagers, whose bodies are still developing, to have an adequate intake of calcium from dairy products, deep green leafy vegetables or fish. Consuming lots of fruit and vegetables will also provide the body with other bone-building nutrients.

Adults similarly need a good, balanced diet, with an adequate supply of calcium. In particular, post-menopausal women need a high-calcium diet as the sex hormones help to maintain bone density by moving calcium to the bones for storage.

Boron, found in leafy vegetables, can help to increase estrogen levels. Black pepper can also be beneficial as it contains anti-osteoporosis compounds.

By eating a varied diet, including dairy products, unsaturated fats and a range of vegetables and fish, you will maintain strong bones.