Our body is made up of more than 200 bones, which are joined by joints and separated by cartilage so that they do not rub against each other. Its functions are essential for our day to day life since they are responsible for maintaining our body weight, protecting the vital organs of the body and making all our movements possible. Therefore, it is important that we know how to take care of them and keep them in good health.
For the bone system to remain strong and healthy, we need to include in our diet some foods rich in the nutrient that is directly related to the formation and growth of our bones: calcium.
Calcium-containing foods for bones
It has always been said that you have to drink milk to strengthen your bones thanks to its high calcium content. However, there are other natural products rich in calcium that help strengthen bones and joints. But which calcium is better for bones, natural or supplements? Of course, it is always better to improve health naturally and leave supplements and food supplements for when there are health problems in which it is convenient to reinforce the treatment with them.
So, if you are wondering how to increase calcium in your bones naturally, take note of these natural products with calcium that you should eat to improve bone health:
- Vegetables
- Fruits
- Dairy products
- Fish
- seafood
In this way, to strengthen our bones, it will be necessary to lead a healthy lifestyle and consume as much variety of foods as possible, especially those on this list if we have a calcium deficit.
Vegetables and fruits rich in calcium
To increase calcium in the bones naturally, it is important that we include foods rich in this mineral, such as vegetables and fruits. Here is a list of the vegetables richest in calcium:
- Spinach
- Kale
- Romaine lettuce
- Broccoli
- Chard
- apples
- Banana
- Orange
- Pineapple
Within vegetables, it is also important to know that green leafy vegetables provide a good dose of calcium per cup per day, such as mustard greens (315mg), chicory (218mg) and turnip greens (137mg).
How to increase calcium in the bones with dairy products
Milk, whatever its variant, (skimmed, semi-skimmed, powdered or condensed) and other dairy products such as yogurt are also foods that contain calcium for the bones and that, therefore, we should include in our daily menu if we want to increase calcium levels in our body naturally.
In addition to maintaining healthy and strong bones, dairy products also provide us with other benefits such as maintaining the function of nervous tissue and the state of both our vision and our skin. It is also important to know that the calcium provided by milk and its derivatives is easier to absorb than that from other sources.
Among this group of foods, the richest are milk (1 cup provides 300mg of the 1000mg that we have to consume per day) and natural yogurts (452mg of 1000mg).
Fish and shellfish for stronger bones
Fish and some shellfish are among the foods richest in calcium, even surpassing milk and other dairy products. Although there is a large quantity with a high content of this nutrient, here are the richest ones to strengthen our bones:
- Sardines: Three ounces of this fish contains approximately 325 mg of calcium.
- Salmon: in addition to containing a great wealth of calcium, it is also a food with a high content of healthy fatty acids such as omega 3.
- Other fish: anchovies, tuna and sole.
- Seafood rich in calcium: prawns, mussels, prawns and oysters.
Other foods rich in calcium
In addition to the foods that we have listed in the previous sections, in the following list we give you others with which to increase calcium in the bones naturally:
- Cookies
- cocoa with milk
- Calcium-fortified or enriched cereals
- soy milk
- soy milk
- tofu
- Tahini
- Fortified fruit juices
- calcium supplements
Foods that help absorb calcium
As much as we eat foods rich in calcium, it is also important to know that we need a series of nutrients to absorb them correctly. It includes the following nutrients to absorb calcium correctly:
- Vitamin D: it is necessary for our body to absorb calcium effectively. You can find this vitamin in oily fish (tuna, salmon and sardines), eggs, shellfish (prawns and oysters) and fish oil. We can also acquire it by taking 15 minutes in the sun every day.
- Vitamin K: we can find it in vegetables (cabbage, watercress and asparagus), herbs such as sage and thyme, and in fruits such as blackberries, raspberries and blueberries.
- Vitamin B6: include in your diet meats (chicken, turkey and beef), fish (trout and cod), vegetables (peppers, turnips and peas) and other foods such as soybeans and chickpeas.
Other tips to strengthen bones
In addition to increasing calcium naturally, it is also recommended that you follow some of the following tips to strengthen your bones:
- Take proteins: a deficiency of this nutrient can lead to a decrease in the absorption of calcium. It also reduces the risk of bone fractures during old age.
- Don’t go on very low-calorie diets: A very low-calorie diet can reduce the density of your bone structure.
- Include foods and supplements rich in collagen: Collagen is a protein that will help you strengthen your bones.
- Eat foods that contain magnesium and zinc: both nutrients help form bone marrow cells and, on the other, prevent bones from breaking down excessively.
