The Best Foods for Strong Bones

Annemarie Colbin, PhD, author of The Whole-Food Guide to Strong Bones: A Holistic Approach, offers up the best foods for strong bones and background as to why they’re so great.

In this order, the best foods for bones are as follows:

Vegetables, especially leafy greens, and also roots and stalks (for the iron, calcium, and vitamins K and C, which, together with protein, help deposit the collagen matrix);
Protein, such as animal foods, beans, and soy foods (for the collagen matrix);
Stock (for the minerals);
Whole grains (for the magnesium);
Foods rich in trace minerals, such as seaweeds, nuts, and seeds;
Edible bones (for the calcium and other minerals); and
Healthy fats (for the fat-soluble vitamins needed for the bones, such as vitamins K and D).

Vegetables

Calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, and other minerals are found abundantly in the vegetable kingdom, especially in produce that's organically grown. Of particular value for bone health are all the leafy green vegetables, such as kale, collard greens, mustard greens, arugula, bok choy, parsley, watercress, and mesclun, with the only exceptions being spinach and Swiss chard, as explained below. Other vegetables especially helpful to the bones include broccoli, cabbage, carrots, zucchini, and acorn or butternut squash. In fact, the food that provides the most calcium per calorie is bok choy, at 790 milligrams per 100 calories when cooked. Other vegetables with a high calcium content include cooked mustard greens, with 495 milligrams of calcium per 100 calories; raw celery, with 250 milligrams per 100 calories; and steamed broccoli, with 164 milligrams per 100 calories. For comparison, skim milk provides 351 milligrams of calcium per 100 calories.

Some vegetables, most notably spinach and Swiss chard, contain a relative abundance of calcium but also contain oxalates, or substances that may interfere with calcium absorption in some cases. However, people on low-calcium diets (300 to 400 milligrams per day) are more efficient at overriding the effect of oxalates and absorbing calcium than people on diets high in calcium-rich dairy products.

Protein Foods

Protein is essential for giving bones the flexibility that helps prevent fractures. There is controversy as to whether protein from animal or vegetable sources is better. For quite some time, the popular assumption was that a diet high in animal protein could contribute to osteoporosis. This assumption has been shown to be incorrect. Some people object to the consumption of animal foods for a variety of reasons. My viewpoint has always been that the choice to be vegetarian or not is a very personal one and that either can be very healthful as long as the diet is balanced and the foods consumed are fresh, natural, and unrefined.

Cooking With Stock

Cooking with stock is a very traditional way of increasing the nutritional value of dishes made with added liquid, such as soups, stews, grains, beans, and sauces. By cooking bones and vegetables for a long time over low heat, many of the minerals are leached out into the cooking water, making the stock highly nutritious and also alkalizing, especially if something sour has been added such as vinegar or wine.

Whole Grains

In modern times, the primary grains that most cultures rely on for sustenance—rice and wheat—are usually stripped of their bran and germ and therefore made deficient in nutrients. Whole grains such as brown rice, whole wheat, barley, oats, rye, millet, cornmeal, amaranth, quinoa, teff, and buckwheat are excellent sources of complex carbohydrates, fiber, and B vitamins, and they're very satisfying to boot. Consuming sufficient amounts of whole grains (about a handful of cooked whole grain per meal) also means you need to consume less animal protein due to a concept known as protein sparing. When grains (or fats) provide more calories, this diminishes the body's need to metabolize proteins for energy. This conserves muscle tissue and whatever is good for the muscles is good for the bones. In addition, whole grains are a good source of magnesium, which helps increase absorption of calcium from the blood into the bones.

Foods Rich in Trace Minerals

Seaweeds, nuts, and seeds are some of the foods richest in trace minerals. Less important than how much calcium you eat is the balance of minerals (and other nutrients). Eating food rich in trace minerals will go a long way toward providing mineral balance.

Seaweeds, most commonly used in Japanese cuisine, are rich in minerals, making them an excellent addition to healthful cooking. In fact, a study of osteoporosis in Taiwan found that those who include seaweed in their diet two or more times per week showed a slightly higher protection against osteoporosis. Seaweeds are also valuable for being especially high in iodine, which is necessary for good thyroid function.

Nuts and seeds have the advantage of also being a great source of bone-healthy essential fatty acids, as well as plant protein. A handful of nuts or seeds a day is a good source of trace minerals such as iron, boron, selenium, phosphorus, and magnesium.

Edible Bones

Perhaps your initial response to the idea of eating bones is "what?!" But bones can be eaten when prepared in certain ways, and if you think about it, what better source of natural minerals for our bones than bones themselves?

Healthy Fats

Good-quality fats are essential for bone health. The average postmenopausal woman needs about 65 grams of fat daily. That means you need approximately 2 or 3 tablespoons of good-quality fat per day in an eating regime based on vegetables, beans, grains, nuts, and seeds, or about 1 or 2 tablespoons if your diet also includes animal products. Also, we need both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. However, a diet high in polyunsaturated vegetable oils is skewed too much in favor of the latter.