Now Playing What role do calcium, vitamin D and diet play in bone health?
What role do calcium, vitamin D and diet play in bone health?
Calcium
Calcium is vital for building and keeping strong healthy bones. Your body will always maintain normal blood calcium at the expense of your bones. So if you don’t get enough calcium, your blood will “rob” the calcium from your bones.
It’s best to maximize the calcium in your diet through dairy and dark green leafy vegetables (spinach, kale, broccoli). Certain nuts and juices are also supplemented with calcium.
The amount of calcium you should take in a supplement depends on your age, sex and dietary history (are you a vegan or lactose intolerant, for example).
Adults under age 50 need 1,000 mg of calcium from all sources every day. Adults age 50 and older need 1,200 mg of calcium from all sources every day.
For more information on calcium, including simple ways to add it to your diet, click here.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is vital for bone health and for calcium absorption. 70 percent of people are Vitamin D deficient.
Dr. Thacker, at Cleveland Clinic, recommends taking at least 1,000 to 2,000 iu of vitamin D3 a day.
Find out if your vitamin D is low by asking your doctor to check your 25-hydroxy vitamin D level which should be over 32 for bone health.
The D3 in your calcium supplements or your multivitamin is typically a very small dose. It’s generally not enough.
