Education AI Prompt

Growing and maintaining healthy, strong bones is crucial. It's estimated that you reach peak bone mass around age 30. But there's good news: You can play a significant role in your bone health. This may mean that you either slow down or prevent osteoporosis (a disease characterized by brittle and breaking bones).1 Learn more about how you can strengthen your bones and what can help, including the foods you'll want to add to your diet. What Can You Do To Help Your Bone Health? Exercise and physical activity can keep bones healthy from childhood through adulthood. Kids and teens should aim for an hour of physical activity daily, while adults need about two hours and 30 minutes each week.1 Ideally, you would mix in exercises that are: Weight-bearing (e.g., walking, running, dancing, team sports) Strength training (e.g., lifting free weights, body-weight regimens) Non-weight-bearing (e.g., cycling, swimming) You may also like yoga, pilates, or tai chi to improve flexibility, core strength, and balance. Additionally, a diet full of calcium and vitamin D can help if you develop osteoporosis. Getting plenty of calcium and vitamin D may slow the disease and prevent fractures.1 How Are Calcium and Vitamin D Helpful in Strengthening Your Bones? Calcium is a mineral that supports your bone and teeth structure and hardness. About 98% of your body's calcium can be found in your bones. The rest of your body sort of uses your bones as a calcium bank.2 Vitamin D is found naturally in a few foods, including fish and mushrooms, but it's mainly found in fortified foods. Your body also produces it when your skin is in the sun. Vitamin D improves calcium absorption and bone growth and helps your muscles, nerves, and immune system.3 You want to make sure that you get enough of each nutrient to maintain healthy bones. Adults should aim to get the following recommended amounts of calcium and vitamin D:24 Adults up to age 50: 1,000 milligrams of calcium and 600 international units of vitamin D Adults ages 51 to 70: 1,000 to 1,200 milligrams of calcium and 600 international units of vitamin D Adults aged 71 and older: 1,200 milligrams of calcium and 800 international units of vitamin D You can meet your calcium and vitamin D requirements by trying these 11 foods for healthy bones. Dairy Products Dairy products—like milk, yogurt, and cheese—can be excellent sources of calcium to help strengthen your bones. Milk Milk has several nutrients—18 out of the 22 that are most important for human health, including calcium. It is also considered one of the richest sources of naturally occurring calcium. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, different types of milk contain various amounts of calcium. Some examples include:56 1 cup of 1% milk: 305 milligrams of calcium 1 cup of skim milk: 298 milligrams of calcium 1 cup of buttermilk: 284 milligrams of calcium Yogurt Another good source of naturally occurring calcium is yogurt. Dairy-based fat-free and low-fat yogurts can provide between 30% and 45% of calcium's daily value. Specifically, 8 ounces of low or nonfat plain yogurt has 448-488 milligrams of calcium, while 8 ounces of non- or low-fat plain Greek yogurt has 250-261 milligrams of calcium.57 Yogurt also contains other nutrients, such as: Vitamin D (in fortified versions) Magnesium Vitamin B12 Riboflavin Iodine Cheese You may be happy to know cheese can be a calcium source that provides other minerals, vitamins, and protein. Each kind of cheese packs a different punch so let's break it down. The estimated calcium contents for the following cheeses are:910 1/4 cup of diced Swiss cheese: 294 milligrams 1/4 cup of nonfat shredded mozzarella cheese: 272 milligrams 1/4 cup of diced, low-fat American cheese: 240 milligrams 1/4 cup of diced cheddar cheese: 234 milligrams 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese: 213 milligrams 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese: 337 milligrams 4 ounces of cottage cheese: 125 milligrams As much as you may want to eat cheese for its calcium, it's a good idea to eat it in moderation. Cheese can be high in salt and saturated fats—two things that can raise blood pressure and LDL cholesterol (aka the bad cholesterol).