We can’t feel our bones weakening, so we need to eat a healthful diet and get weight-bearing exercise (such as walking, hiking, jogging, dancing) to keep our bones strong. Building strong bones begins in childhood. Maintaining our bone strength continues throughout our life.

May, Osteoporosis Awareness Month, is a good time to renew our commitment to protecting our bones.

Bone Builders

Calcium and vitamin D are the main bone-building nutrients. Other vitamins and minerals such as vitamin C, potassium and magnesium also help build strong bones. Eat a variety of foods every day to get the vitamins and minerals your body needs.

Where Do I Get Calcium and Vitamin D?

Nutrition labels show the percent of the Daily Value of calcium provided by a serving of the food.  Some nutrition labels also show how much vitamin D is present.

Calcium is found in:

• Yogurt
• Milk
• Cheese
• Collard greens
• Broccoli
• Kale
• Figs
• Calcium-fortified juices, breads and cereals, soy milk, almond milk, tofu

Vitamin D is found in:

• Fatty fish such as salmon
• Vitamin D-fortified milk
• Some brands of yogurt*
• Some types of 100 percent juice*
• Some types of cereal*

* Read the label on foods to learn whether the food has vitamin D added.

Note: Vitamin D can be made when our skin is exposed to sunlight; during winter months, we may be lacking in vitamin D. According to some research, 10 minutes of sun exposure provides 10,000 International Units of vitamin D. (But, remember to wear sunscreen to protect yourself from skin cancer!)

Julie Garden-Robinson, Food and Nutrition Specialist, NDSU Extension Service

Featured in Food Wise May 2017 newsletter (PDF)