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How to support bone health: tips to keep your bones healthy
Written byLaura Harcourt
Reviewed byAndrew Chambler
Supporting your bone health is crucial as you age, helping reduce your risk of fractures and osteoporosis.
Summary
1Why is good bone health important?
Your bones provide structure to your body, protect your organs and store essential minerals like calcium and phosphorus, so keeping them healthy is...
2Tips for maintaining healthy bones
Incorporating simple practices into your lifestyle can help you maintain strong and healthy bones. Here are great tips and ideas to think about...
3Exercise regularly
Physical exercise is essential for making your bones stronger when you’re younger and making sure they stay as strong as possible as you get older...
While it may not always be at the top of your priority list, looking after your bones is vital for maintaining your overall health and mobility.
We should all strive to maintain good bone health throughout our lives to keep our bones strong and healthy.
In this article, we'll explore practical ways to support bone health. We’ll discuss everything from why maintaining good bone health is important, to some of the most effective dietary tips and lifestyle changes you can make.
What is bone health?
Bone health is how you look after your bones over a lifetime. Just like any organ in the body, your bones contain living tissue that renews itself regularly. It does this through a process that breaks down old bone and adds new bone.1
When you’re young, your body produces new bone more quickly than it breaks down old bone. The amount of bone tissue in your body, called bone mass, continues growing throughout puberty up until the age of 30. At this point, your bones reach their maximum strength and density, known as ‘peak bone mass’. Then, you start to lose slightly more bone mass than you gain.2,3
By taking action to take care of your bone health, you can help preserve your bone mass and reduce your risk of fractures and breakages. Bones that are dense are stronger and less likely to break.4
Why is good bone health important?
Your bones provide structure to your body, protect your organs and store essential minerals like calcium and phosphorus, so keeping them healthy is important.5
The density of bone decreases with age, making your bones more susceptible to breakages and osteoporosis – a condition that causes bones to weaken and become brittle, increasing the risk of them breaking.6
You’re less likely to develop osteoporosis if you build up more bone mass during childhood, adolescence and early adulthood, and maintain your bone health throughout adulthood (which helps to slow down bone loss).7
Your genes can largely determine the bone mass you’re likely to build over a lifetime.8 But that doesn’t mean bone health is entirely out of your control. There are several things you can do to help keep your bones strong and healthy and prevent or reduce bone loss – as we talk about in the next section.
Tips for maintaining healthy bones
Incorporating simple practices into your lifestyle can help you maintain strong and healthy bones. Here are some great tips and ideas to think about.
Optimise your diet
Eating a balanced diet rich in essential nutrients is important for maintaining your bone health.
Specific nutrients and minerals can support your bone density and decrease your risk of osteoporosis and fractures. While they’re most effective when we get them from the foods we eat, taking supplements can offer a great way of hitting your nutritional goals if you struggle with your diet.
Calcium is the primary mineral in bones and it’s essential for bone strength and density.9
Calcium-rich foods help maintain bone health by ensuring bones have the necessary mineral content to keep their structure, supporting the building and repairing of bone tissue, and helping replace old bone with new.10
Some of the most common calcium-rich foods include:11,12
- dairy products, such as milk, cheese and yoghurt
- fortified plant-based milk
- leafy green vegetables, such as kale, broccoli and spinach
- tofu
- certain nuts and seeds, including almonds and chia seeds
- fortified foods, such as breakfast cereal
Vitamin D and calcium work together to maintain bone strength. Vitamin D supports calcium absorption and bone mineralisation – the process that makes bones hard and strong.5,14
When you spend time outside, your skin produces vitamin D from sunlight. You can also include vitamin D-rich foods in your diet, such as:15
- fatty fish, such as salmon, tuna and mackerel
- fish liver oils
- eggs
- cheese
- fortified foods
Magnesium can play a role in bone formation and helps maintain bone density. People who have more magnesium in their diets generally tend to have higher bone mineral density and a reduced risk of bone fractures and osteoporosis.17
You can make sure you’re getting enough magnesium by eating plenty of:17
- nuts
- seeds
- whole grain breakfast cereals
- wholemeal bread
- leafy green vegetables, such as spinach
- sardines
- cheese
Vitamin K2 regulates calcium metabolism, supports bone regrowth and works with other nutrients, such as vitamin D and calcium, to keep your bones strong and resilient.18
Vitamin K2 can be found in foods like:19
- eggs
- cheese
- butter
- chicken
- sauerkraut
- kefir
Exercise regularly
Exercise works on bones in the same way that it works on your muscles – by making your bones stronger over time.21
Physical exercise is essential for making your bones stronger when you’re younger and making sure they stay as strong as possible as you get older.21,22
Since bone is a living tissue that changes depending on how you treat it, performing regular exercise helps your bones to adapt. It does this by causing tiny amounts of damage (known as ‘microdamage’) that prompt your body to repair and remodel the tissue so that it can withstand similar stress in the future.21
- weight-bearing activities – walking, jogging and stair-climbing subject your bones to stress. This stress stimulates bone-forming cells, helping build bone density and strength while also lowering the risk of fractures and osteoporosis
- resistance training – resistance exercises, including weightlifting, bodyweight exercises and resistance band workouts, place stress on bones, which stimulates bone regrowth
- balance and coordination exercises – exercises like yoga and tai chi can improve your balance, coordination and awareness of body position. These improvements enhance stability and mobility and reduce the chances of falls and fractures, particularly among older adults
Stop smoking
Smoking can significantly affect bone health, increasing the likelihood of bone-related conditions and complications.
It does this by:23,24,25
- reducing bone density
- impairing bone healing
- increasing the risk of fractures
- disrupting hormones that regulate bone formation
- impairing calcium absorption
Maintain a healthy weight
Both carrying excess weight and not enough weight can affect your bones.
For example, research has found a link between being underweight and having reduced bone density, which can lead to bone deterioration and osteoporosis in the future.26 On the other hand, obesity has been shown to impact bone health by disrupting bone-regulating hormones and increasing inflammation.27
Maintaining a healthy weight through performing regular exercise and eating a balanced diet can help reduce your risk of osteoporosis and fractures.28
Explore your genetics
Some factors affecting bone health, such as genetics, are beyond your control. However, understanding your family history can help you take proactive steps to manage your bone health.29
If osteoporosis or other bone conditions run in your family, for example, discuss which preventative measures you can put in place with your GP.
Talk to your GP
Having regular check-ups with your GP is essential for monitoring your overall health, including your bone health.25
During these appointments, take the time to discuss any concerns or questions you have about your bone health and then take the necessary steps to support it.
The final say
We only get one set of bones that have to last us throughout our entire life. But because we can’t actually see them, it can be easy to overlook the fact we need to look after them as much as we possibly can to give them a greater chance of looking after us as we get older.
Being tuned into the importance of bone health is the first step in the process and, fortunately, good bone health is something we can all work towards.
Eating more bone-supporting food is one of the best things we can all do, as is getting regular exercise and maintaining a healthy weight. And if you suspect you may not be getting all of the minerals and vitamins you need to keep your bones in the best possible condition or you’re worried about your risk osteoporosis or other bone conditions, speak to your GP for further advice and next steps.
The advice in this article is for information only and should not replace medical care. Please check with your GP or healthcare professional before trying any supplements, treatments or remedies. Food supplements must not be used as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet, and a healthy lifestyle.
- 1. Rowe P, Koller A, Sharma S. Physiology, Bone Remodeling [Internet]. Nih.gov. StatPearls Publishing; 2023 [cited 2024 May 24]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499863/
- 2. Breeland, G., et al. Embryology, bone ossification [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing; 2023. [cited 2024 Mar 11] Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK539718.
- 3. Lu J, Shin Y, Yen MS, Sun SS. Peak Bone Mass and Patterns of Change in Total Bone Mineral Density and Bone Mineral Contents From Childhood Into Young Adulthood. Journal of clinical densitometry [Internet]. 2016 Apr 1 [cited 2024 May 24];19(2):180–91. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4402109/
- 4. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. Bone mineral density tests: What the numbers mean [Internet]. [cited 2024 Mar 11]. Available from: https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/bone-mineral-density-tests-what-numbers-mea.
- 5. Cowan, PT., et al. Anatomy, bones [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing; 2023. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537199.
- 6. Colón, CJP., et al. Muscle and bone mass loss in the elderly population: Advances in diagnosis and treatment. Journal of Biomedicine. 2018;3(3):40–9. https://doi.org/10.7150/jbm.23390.
- 7. Porter, JL., et al. Osteoporosis [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing; 2024. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441901.
- 8. Piroska, M., et al. Strong genetic effects on bone mineral density in multiple locations with two different techniques: Results from a cross-sectional twin study. Medicina-lithuania. 2021;57(3):248–8. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina57030248.
- 9. Yu, E., et al. Physiology, calcium [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing; 2023. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482128.
- 10. Office of Dietary Supplements. Calcium: Fact sheet for healthcare professionals [Internet]. [cited 2024 Mar 11]. Available from: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Calcium-HealthProfessional.
- 11. Office of Dietary Supplements. Calcium: Fact sheet for consumers [Internet]. [cited 2024 Mar 11]. Available from: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Calcium-Consumer.
- 12. NHS Choices. Food for healthy bones [Internet]. 2024 [cited 2024 May 24]. Available from: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/bone-health/food-for-strong-bones/
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- 15. 12Office of Dietary Supplements. Vitamin D: Fact sheet for consumers [Internet]. [cited 2024 Mar 11]. Available from: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-Consumer.
- 16. 13NHS. Vitamin D [Internet]. [cited 2024 Mar 11]. Available from: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-d.
- 17. 14Office of Dietary Supplements. Magnesium: Fact sheet for consumers [Internet]. [cited 2024 Mar 11]. Available from: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-Consumer.
- 18. 15Hu, L., et al. The combined effect of vitamin K and calcium on bone mineral density in humans: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research. 2021;16(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13018-021-02728-4.
- 19. 16Schwalfenberg, GK. Vitamins K1 and K2: The emerging group of vitamins required for human health. Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism. 2017;2017:1–6. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/6254836.
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- 21. 17Troy, KL., et al. Exercise early and often: Effects of physical activity and exercise on women’s bone health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health [Internet]. 2018;15(5). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15050878.
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- 25. Bone health and falls [Internet]. NHS inform. 2023 [cited 2024 May 24]. Available from: https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/preventing-falls/keeping-well/bone-health-and-falls/
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