How good are fruits and vegetables for your bones?

When most Indians think about nutrition for healthy bones, they think about milk and other dairy products.

However, fruits and vegetables can provide many of the vitamins and minerals your body needs to build and maintain bone mass. In addition to trace minerals, fruits and vegetables contain magnesium, vitamin K and calcium.

Magnesium helps your body absorb calcium.

Your body uses magnesium as cofactor in more than 300 biochemical reactions to function properly. It plays a major role in digestion and the absorption of calcium. To support adequate levels of magnesium in the body, women need 320 mg each day; men need 420 mg.

You can find magnesium in produce aisle in the following forms.

Vegetables

• Beet greens

• Okra

• Potatoes

• Spinach

• Sweet potatoes

• Tomatoes

Fruits

• Bananas

• Blackberries

• Figs

• Grapefruit

• Guava

• Jackfruit

• Kiwi

• Passion Fruit

• Raisins

• Raspberries

• Strawberries

• Watermelon

Nuts

• Almonds

• Pumpkin Seeds

If you do not get enough magnesium from your diet, talk to your health care provider or nutritionist about taking a highly absorbable supplement such as magnesium chelate, magnesium glycinate. If you have digestive or malabsorption issues, consider using magnesium chloride oil.

Fight osteoporosis with vitamin K.

Your body uses vitamin K to generate the proteins needed for bone building. Vitamin K also impacts the bone-building process by regulating the osteoblasts and osteoclasts – the building and remodeling cells inside your bones.

To equip your body with the tools it needs to create new bone, add these vitamin K-rich foods to your grocery list.

Vegetables

• Asparagus

• Avocados

• Bell peppers

• Broccoli

• Brussel sprouts

• Green beans

• Green peas

• Kale

• Parsley

• Romaine lettuce

• Spinach

• Swiss chard

• Watercress

Fruits

• Blackberries

• Blueberries

• Figs, dried, uncooked

• Grapes

• Kiwi fruit, fresh, raw

• Mulberries

• Plums, dried prunes

• Pomegranate juice

• Pomegranates

• Raspberries

• Rhubarb

Calcium is a major building block for overall health and bone strength.

Your body needs 1,200 milligrams of calcium to function properly every day. When your calcium levels are not high enough, your body withdraws this mineral from its storehouse – your bones. A bone-friendly diet helps your body maintain healthy calcium levels without affecting your bones.

Often, we often think of dairy products as the main source of calcium in India. Yet, surprisingly, studies from 1983, found that people who enjoy an Asian diet, which includes large amounts green vegetables, bok choy, broccoli and cabbage, suffer fewer fractures than people from countries who consume large amounts of cow's milk.

You’ll find calcium in:

Vegetables

• Broccoli

• Kale

• Mustard greens

• Okra (Bhindi)

Fruits

• Blackberries

• Blackcurrants

• Dates

• Dried Apricots

• Figs

• Guavas

• Kiwi Fruit

• Kumquats

• Lemons

• Limes

• Oranges and Tangerines

• Papaya

• Pink Grapefruit

• Raspberries

• Rhubarb

• Strawberries

You can also find calcium in nuts and seeds.

• Almonds

• Flax Seeds

• Sesame Seeds

Whenever it’s possible, obtain your calcium from the foods you eat.

Combine calcium with magnesium, vitamin D and vitamin K to help your body make the most of any supplemental calcium you take. Your body cannot absorb more than 500 mg at one time. It’s best to space your intake of calcium throughout the day.

Vitamin D is essential for calcium absorption.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin needed for bone health, immunity and mental well-being. Mostly, Mushrooms are the only plant-based source of vitamin D. But, they are a source of vitamin D2 not the vitamin D3 our bodies naturally manufacture.

Since vitamin D is a critical element for bone health, it’s worth mentioning the other dietary sources that contain the vitamin. Cod liver oil, wild-caught mackerel, salmon, cod, sardines, free-range eggs and vitamin D fortified foods such as orange juice are good sources of vitamin D.

The best source of vitamin D is right outside your door.

In today’s society, it’s harder for people to maintain adequate levels of vitamin D3 from the sun than it was 100 years ago,

• Our work indoors has increased while our outdoor chores have declined.

• We’ve become sun-phobic. To prevent skin cancer, we slather on sunscreen which also blocks the UV rays our skin needs to create vitamin D.

We’re not advocating giving up sunscreen, but sunlight is still the most natural way to boost the amount of vitamin D in your body.

The answer may be as simple as exposing your skin to the sun’s rays for 15 to 20 minutes each day before putting on your sunscreen. The chemical reaction in your skin supplies just the right of vitamin D for your health. You don’t have to worry about a vitamin D overdose with sunshine.

If you cannot get enough vitamin D through sun exposure or you’re the foods you eat, talk to your health care provider about taking a vitamin D3 supplement. The recommended daily allowance of vitamin D3 is 400 IU for people who are 51 to 70 years old and 600 IU after the age of 70.

If you have concerns about bone health, talk to your orthopaedist at comfort orthocare.