3 tips for keeping your bones strong and healthy

1. Increase your intake of dietary calcium

Calcium is essential for building and maintaining bone to give the bone its strength. We continuously lose calcium each day through our skin, nails, sweat and urine. Our bodies cannot make calcium, therefore all our calcium requirements need to come from our diet. When we do not get enough calcium from our diet, the calcium in our bones begins to dissolve and is used up, decreasing our overall bone strength and health. Consuming enough calcium each day will help keep your bones strong and healthy.

Dairy products such as milk, yoghurt and cheese is the main source of calcium, or it is also found in canned fish (with bones) such as salmon and sardines, fruit and vegetables, and nuts such as almonds.

As you increase your intake of calcium you also need to make sure it will be effectively absorbed by the body. Drinking too much caffeine, alcohol or soft drinks that contain phosphates may reduce calcium absorption, along with diets high in animal proteins.

2. Increase your vitamin D levels

Vitamin D increases the absorption of calcium and regulates the amount of calcium in the blood. It is essential for bone health and strength as without it calcium is not absorbed effectively by the body. The most prominent source of vitamin D is from exposure to sunlight. To ensure you are getting enough sunlight to produce vitamin D, it is recommended that approximately 15% of your body (namely the face, arms and hands) is exposed to sunlight for roughly 6-8 minutes 4-6 times a week. Older people need this exposure more times a week, and darker skinned people require longer exposure times. It is highly recommended that you continue to use sunscreen and avoid sun exposure when it is at its strongest (between 10am-2pm during the summer months) as the risk of cancerous effects outweigh the benefits of vitamin D production.

Vitamin D is found in some foods (fatty fish, liver, eggs) however adequate levels of vitamin D are unlikely to be sustained through diet alone.

3. Get active!

Regular exercise maintains and increases bone strength by increasing bone mass and slowing age-related bone mass loss. Additionally, exercise increases muscle strength which helps support joints and prevent falls. Gains in bone strength are quickly lost once you stop exercising so it is important that you exercise regularly and for the long term. For the biggest benefits, the exercise needs to be regular, fairly intense and offer a variety. Most people should aim for 30-40 minutes of exercise 4-6 times a week with a mixture of weight-bearing exercises and resistance exercises.

Weight-bearing exercise (i.e. any exercise carried out whilst on your feet) helps strengthen your bones as they bear weight and experience certain amounts of strain as gravity exerts its force. Good examples of weight bearing exercise include walking, jogging, tennis or golf. Higher impact exercises include aerobics and running.

Resistance exercises (lifting weights with arms or legs) increases bone mass and strength in response to muscles repeatedly contracting when lifting a heavy weight. Increasing the resistance, the number of repetitions or changing the exercise pattern helps increase bone mass.