Nutrition and osteoporosis are closely linked.  Lack of key bone building nutrients at all ages will impact the health your bones.  There is a sea of information out there about modifying your diet to prevent bone loss and fight osteoporosis, so much so it can be confusing.  Everyone knows that vegetable and fruit are important to incorporate into any diet, but what about dairy for calcium and meats and poultry for protein?

Eating for good skeletal health is important.  But it doesn’t have to be complicated.

Weighing Nutritional Factors

Many of us have been told by our doctors that we need 3 servings of dairy a day to keep our bones healthy.  It has long been suggested that eating foods high in calcium and taking calcium and vitamin D supplements is the key to strong bones.  However, there have been recent concerns that excessive calcium intake, through both diet and supplementation, can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Some nutritionists suggest that eating an alkaline diet is essential to maintaining bone health.  It is thought that eating a diet high in acidic foods, such as meat, dairy, grains and sweets, creates an acidic condition in the body.  The system reacts by leeching alkaline minerals such as calcium and magnesium from the bones to help neutralize the acid.  Keeping a diet that maintains an alkaline environment is necessary for maintaining strong bones.

Others advocate for eating a vegetarian diet and avoiding animal proteins altogether, thereto suggesting that animal proteins cause an acid environment, pulling of calcium from the bones.

However, your bones and your body need a variety of nutrients to keep you strong and healthy.  The truth is, limiting particular food groups many not be the best thing for you.  For example, if you exercise intensely, you may need more protein, essential for building stronger muscles and bones.

Stress is another concern.  If you are experiencing stress, eating the right nutrients to support your body, along with sleep and self-care practices, will be important for preserving your bone health.

The Best Diet for You and Your Bones

Check out my bone build a nutrient chart to see if you’re getting all the nutrients you need to build strong bones.

This is where Nurtured Bones can help.  I can help you find a diet filled with bone-boosting nutrients, as well as a diet that fits your lifestyle and makes eating a joy, not a chore.

My nutritional approach draws upon the best research from both holistic and traditional sources to build better bone health.  It integrates different nutritional theories with an individual’s dietary needs.  These are influenced not only by the foods you eat but also outside factors that can affect nutrient demands.  Examples include career, relationships, and physical activities.

Call for a free 15 minute consult today to see if the Nurtured Bones approach to a strong and healthy skeleton is right for you.

Keep surfing my website for more information about best approaches to building bone health.  To schedule an appointment with me, reach out to me at (703) 738-4230 or email me at susan@nurturedbones.com.

It is well known that eating a Mediterranean-based diet has beneficial effects on your health.  Numerous studies throughout the years have shown that this diet can help prevent cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, as well as decrease the risk of developing cancer, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.  Furthermore, it has been shown to help keep your brain young and improve longevity!  What more could we want?  How about strong bones!

Recently, researchers examining the effects of diet on bone health found that postmenopausal women who ate a Mediterranean diet were less likely to suffer from hip fractures. After analyzing the data from the Women’s Health Initiative study, researchers found that women who most closely followed a Mediterranean diet had a 20 percent lower risk for hip fractures compared to women who didn’t followed other diets. The authors of the study concluded “these results support the notion that following a healthy dietary pattern may play a role in the maintenance of bone health in postmenopausal women.” The study was published online March 28 in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

What is it about the Mediterranean diet that supports bone health? The diet emphasizes eating foods like fish, vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and olive oil while limiting meat, cheese, sweets and processed foods.  These nutrient rich foods provide all the important minerals and vitamins necessary for keeping bones strong as well as the necessary proteins from plant and animal sources along with encouraging the consumption of healthy fats.

• Vegetables provide important bone building vitamins such as K, C, B6, folate and minerals like calcium, manganese, copper, potassium.
• Fruits are abundant in vitamin C, manganese and potassium.
• Legumes, such as lentils and beans, are rich in the minerals phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, manganese, boron and folate.
• Nuts and seeds not only provide healthy fats, but also an abundance of minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, manganese, copper, boron.
• Whole grains, such as oats, millet, barley, quinoa, brown rice and whole wheat, provide needed silica, manganese, phosphorus, copper, vitamin B6, folate.
• Fish, not only a wonderful source of protein, but fatty fish such as Salmon and Mackerel provide omega 3 fatty acids. Salmon, sardines, tuna, mackerel and trout are healthy choices and provide vitamin A, B6, B12 and D, as well as phosphorus and calcium.
• Lentils, seeds, nuts, beans and grains also provide valuable proteins as well as a plethora of vitamins and minerals.
• Olive oil provide key polyphenols that have strong anti-inflammatory effects. The fats from avocadoes are equally as beneficial.
• Wine in moderation. Wine, particularly red wine, contains the antioxidant resveratrol which has been shown to support healthy lipid levels in the bloodstream as well as anti-inflammatory properties. However, alcohol is acidic and can lead to leeching of calcium from the bones, so moderation is imperative.

What don’t you see on this list?

• Cheese and yogurt are eaten regularly in the traditional Mediterranean diet, but in moderate amounts. Milk is not included in this traditional diet. Adequate calcium in this diet comes from vegetables, nuts and fish.
• Eggs and poultry in moderation. Though packed with good protein and other nutrients, eggs and poultry are only eaten 1-2 times a week.
• Meat is limited in this diet and is only eaten 1-2 times a month. Limiting red meat may be beneficial to bones because meat has been shown to be very acidic and can cause the leeching of calcium from the bones.
• Sweets and processed foods are limited. Sugar-sweetened beverages, processed meat, refined grains, refined oils and other highly processed foods are void of nutrients, and are often considered anti-nutrients.  Anti-nutrients interfere with the absorption and utilization of essential nutrients in the body, which can result in impaired bone growth and strength.

The Mediterranean diet is effective in supporting bone health because it provides a varied diet full of nutrients, anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatory and alkalizing foods.  I think most importantly, the JAMA study highlights how an overall healthy diet may be more important in supporting bone health than just focusing on the intake of a few widely emphasized nutrients, like calcium and vitamin D.  Unfortunately, when it comes to preventing and combating bone loss and osteoporosis, nutrition is often ignored in favor of pharmacological medicine. As a society, we are all becoming more aware how a nutritious diet maintains health, prevents disease and even helps control and/or treats chronic illness.  Nutrition, along with exercise, can do the same for osteoporosis!

Check out my Bone Building Nutrient Chart to see what minerals are crucial to your bone health: Bone Building Nutrients