A balanced diet with proper nutrition is essential to living healthy with osteoporosis. It's important that your diet is not just balanced but also includes the particular ingredients you need for strong, healthy bones. That includes getting the right amounts of calcium and vitamin D, and avoiding some habits that can negatively affect the strength of your bones. But for women over the age of 70, it is essential to talk to your doctor about treatment as recent studies have shown that calcium and vitamin D alone are not enough to prevent fractures.

Calcium

Vitamin D

Calcium

Calcium is a mineral your body requires for healthy bones, teeth, and overall functioning. Because your body cannot produce calcium itself, you must obtain it through calcium-containing foods, beverages and supplements. Older adults should get between 1,000 to 1,500 mg of calcium every day.

How important is calcium? Studies have shown that not getting enough calcium is associated with low bone mass and an increased risk of fracture (broken bone). Additional studies have shown that providing calcium supplements to those with osteoporosis can actually decrease bone loss and reduce the risk of fracture. Calcium, vitamin D, and lifestyle changes that include diet and exercise, are important for maintaining bone health.

Your need for calcium changes over your lifetime. For example, children and adolescents need a lot of calcium because their skeletons are growing very rapidly. Postmenopausal women and older men need more calcium. The National Institutes of Health recommends that premenopausal women and postmenopausal women taking hormone (estrogen) therapy should have 1,200 mg/day of calcium. Postmenopausal women not on hormone therapy should have 1,500 mg/day of calcium every day. The recommended daily intake of calcium for men between the ages of 25-65 years is 1,000 mg/day. For men over 65, the recommended intake of calcium is 1,500 mg daily. Also, because as you age, your body becomes less efficient at absorbing calcium it's important that you get enough calcium every day to offset this change.

Fortunately, calcium isn't hard to find. It's available in:

• Dairy products such as low-fat or nonfat milk, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream
• Dark leafy green vegetables such as spinach, collard greens, bok choy and broccoli
• Almonds
• Fish such as canned sardines and canned salmon with bones
• Foods fortified with calcium, including orange juice, cereal, and breads, as well as products containing soy and tofu

A list of more foods high in calcium can be found in the Calcium Calculator of the 2004 Surgeon General's Report on Bone Health and Osteoporosis.

Whatever your age, be sure to talk to your doctor about how much calcium your body needs. Your doctor may suggest that you take a supplement to make sure you get enough calcium.

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Vitamin D

Vitamin D is an important part of your daily diet because it helps your body absorb calcium. Not getting enough vitamin D can contribute to low bone density which in turn may increase your risk of fracture.

The National Institutes of Health recommends that adults should take from 400 - 600 IU of vitamin D every day. Vitamin D is also called "the sunshine vitamin" because when your body is exposed to sunshine, it naturally produces vitamin D. Usually, 10 to 15 minutes of sunshine 3 times a week is enough to produce the body's requirement of vitamin D. Dairy products (cheese, butter, margarine, cream and fortified milk), fish, oysters, and fortified cereals are also good sources of vitamin D.

As with calcium, supplements are available for people who do not receive or make enough vitamin D.

Please consult your doctor before beginning any program of exercise or diet.

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