When we are in our 20’s to mid 30’s we generally feel on top of the world and we are coming into our own. However it is at that age our bone mass reaches its peak. There are ways to keep your bones dense at any age.

One of the healthiest mineral for your bones is calcium, which most Americans don’t get enough of. Calcium hardens your bones and increases its density. If you have low calcium levels your body pulls it from your bones. Too much calcium loss leads to osteoporosis or brittle bone disease. That increases your chance of falls and broken bones.

At about age 50, you need 1200 milligrams of calcium a day to stop bone loss. Getting 1300 milligrams a day between the ages of 9 to 18 is necessary to stock up for adulthood. Some good sources of calcium include :

1 cup plain low fat yogurt (300 milligrams)

1/2 cup firm tofu with calcium(200 milligrams)

1 cup baked beans(140 milligrams)

3 ounces canned salmon (180 milligrams)

Vitamin D is necessary for your body to absorb calcium from foods. Without vitamin D your body raids the skeleton system to get it. That weakens your bone and prevents your body from building strong new bone.

A simple blood test can tell your levels. Normal for adults is 20 ng/ml. Less than 12 ng/ml means you are vitamin D deficit.

Your skin makes vitamin D from sunlight. Just 15 minutes a day in the sun does the trick. For thoses of us that reside in less sunny areas you can get vitamin D from your food. Good food sources of vitamin D include:

Fatty fish like salmon, tune, or mackeral

Fortified milk from cows, almonds, soy, and oats

Eggs

Pork

Fortified cereal

Talk to you doctor before taking supplements. Too much vitamin D may be harmful.

Exercise is an ideal way to prevent bone loss. Regular exercise builds muscles, which improve balance and coordination. That decreases your risk for falling.

Best exercises to build bones are:

Running

Walking

Dancing

Climbing stairs

These exercises are site specific but do nothing for your upper body. Strength training exercises taxes your bones so they grow heavier and denser. Some of them are:

Pushups

Free weights

Rowing

Resistance bands

The goal for any exercise is thirty minutes a day.

Almost 1 in 7 Americans smoke. Nicotine and other chemicals in tobacco slow the production of bone-forming cells which may be a factor for osteoporosis. They also hinder blood flow to your bones. The result is frail bones that are apt to break.

We all get the munchies and love to snack on soft drinks, cookies, and other processed foods. Too much added sugar hurts your bone health. Added sugar which your body does not need causes your body to flush out bone strengthening calcium and magnesium when you urinate. It also prevents your intestines from taking in enough calcium.

Chilling with a nice cocktail is one way we decrease stress and anxiety especially in the altered world of today. However heavy drinking may lead to more falls. It also leads to interference with bone growth cells called osteoblasts. Heavy drinking in men means 15 drinks or more per week and eight for women. A drink is 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of vodka, whiskey, or other hard liquor.

Preserving and strengthening your bone heal is essential as you age. Start to practice some of the things outlined here today to maintain and increase your bone health.