Bone health is crucial to lead a healthy life and for this you need to include calcium rich food for bones in your meals. There are multiple bone strengthening foods that should be a part of your diet for healthy bones. The most popular ones are calcium foods for the bones. To know more about foods for bone health, read on!

Introduction

Our bodies undergo various changes during our lifetime. These transformations are largely dependent on our dietary intake and lifestyle factors. To maintain optimum bone health, one must take an adequate amount of calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D; these vitamins and minerals are essential to build up your bone health and generally regarded as bone strengthening foods.

According to recommended dietary allowances (RDA, 2020), the recommended calcium requirement for sedentary adult men and women is 800 mg/day and the phosphorus requirement is nearly 1000mg/day. It is essential to include these foods to build strong bones.

Nutrients for strong bones

The key nutrient for bone health is calcium. In addition to this, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin A, vitamin D, and zinc also play an important role in regulating the function of calcium, which includes absorption and adequate deposition of nutrients in the bone. Plan your meal with calcium rich foods for your bones, along with these nutrients that are regarded as bone strengthening foods to promote bone health. 
Let’s read about some important nutrients and foods for strong bones.

  • Calcium:

    Calcium is essential for proper bone development regardless of the age group. Calcium rich food for bones is present in milk products, cereals and legumes, meat products, nuts and seeds. These are the foods that make bones strong.

  • Phosphorus:

    Just like calcium rich food for bones are essential for bone health, phosphorus also plays a significant role in bone development. It helps in the formation of teeth and bones, and it is an essential bone forming mineral. Nuts, beans, and legumes are some primary examples of foods for strong bones.

  • Magnesium:

    It influences mineral regulation in the body. According to the RDA, 2020, sedentary males and females should consume 385 mg of magnesium per day to meet the optimum requirements. Magnesium rich food good for bones include almonds, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, calcium, etc.

  • Vitamin D:

    Food for healthy bones also includes vitamin D content that helps in bone development and maintains optimum bone health by increasing calcium absorption in the body and decreasing bone loss. The RDA, 2020 has recommended 600 International Units (IU)/day.

  • Vitamin A, C, K:

    Food for healthy bones also requires vitamins that promote calcium absorption in the body and reduce the risk of fracture. According to RDA, 2020, Vitamin A requirement for sedentary males is 1000 mg/day and for women, it is 900 mg/day. Vitamin C intake for males should be 80 mg/day and for females it should be 95 mg/day. Vitamin K’s intake as per RDA 2020 should be 55 g for both adult females and males. 

  • Zinc:

    Zinc is also an important food for healthy bones. It helps with height gain, bone, and collagen synthesis. The RDA 2020 has recommended including zinc in your daily diet. The suggested requirement is 14 mg/day for adult males and 12 mg/day for adult females. Zinc food for healthy bones may encompass nuts, eggs, whole grains, etc.

Above mentioned foods that make bones strong help you to achieve optimum bone health and reduce the chances of various bone health disorders like rickets, osteoporosis, fractures etc.

Making Bones Stronger - Top 12 bone strengthening foods

According to Indian food composition tables (IFCT, 2017), below, we have listed 12 foods for strong bones. These are essential foods to make bones strong and should be planned wisely in your daily diet.

Foods good for strong bones
Food groups Cereals and grains Calcium (mg) Phosphorus (mg) Magnesium (mg Vitamin (µg)
Ragi 364 210 146 41.46
Quinoa 198 212 119  
Pulses and legumes
Moth beans 154 362 205 9.77
Rajma brown 134 396 164 25.82
Dairy Foods
Paneer 476 330 26 0.13
Khoa 602 476 58 0.12
Meat and poultry products
Egg yolk 49.4 549 13.17 0.84
Whole chicken 20.52 199 23.82 1.12
Fruits and vegetables
Bathua leaves 211 48 37 1.01
Mustard leaves 191 71 51 5.40
Dates (khajoor) 71.20 73.02 73.79 2.60
Nuts and seeds
Almonds (badaam) 228 446 318 1.61
Sesame seeds 1174 754 372 76.51

Apart from this, foods good for bones also include soybeans, tofu, soya drinks, fortified flour, yoghurt etc. You can have a hung yoghurt sandwich, spinach paratha, and more.

There are a variety of calcium foods for bones that improve bone density and increase calcium absorption. Daily intake can reduce the chances of osteoporosis and arthritis in elderly adults and also reduce fractures in younger age groups.

Conclusion

Our body’s nutritional requirements keep changing with age. However, including the suggested calcium rich food for bones in your diet along with other nutrients will keep your bones healthy. So make sure you add a variety of food groups that are regarded as foods to make bones strong in your meals. In addition, physical activity also plays an important role in the development of strong bones. Therefore, incorporating calcium foods into your daily diet is paramount.

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