Three key ingredients for good, healthy bones

Would you believe that osteoporosis causes a fracture every 20 seconds? May is National Osteoporosis Prevention Month. Let good nutrition help you to keep your bones strong. Choose foods rich in calcium, vitamin D and vitamin K.

Calcium counts

It is no secret that calcium is a major component of bones and teeth, but like other nutrients, calcium has a diverse job description. Calcium also helps your muscles contract, your heart beat, your blood clot and your nervous system send messages. And if you need more reason to bone up on calcium, get this: Recent research suggests that calcium may also offer protection from several health problems: high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney stones and if you’re at high risk, possibly colon cancer. Are you getting enough calcium in your diet?

The goal for calcium each day varies, depending on your age:

•Adults 50 years or younger need 1000 mg calcium each day

•Adults 50 years or older need 1200 mg calcium each day

•Children 9-18 years need 1300 mg calcium each day

Here is a quick tip to determine how many milligrams of calcium you’re actually getting. Look for the percent of Daily Value listed for calcium on the Nutrition Facts label. Simply replace the  percent sign with a zero, to determine the milligrams of calcium. For example, if the label lists calcium as 20 percent DV, that food provides 200 mg calcium per serving.

Vitamin D

The main dietary sources of vitamin D are low-fat milk that has been fortified with vitamin D and cold saltwater fish such as salmon and tuna. Read yogurt labels to determine if vitamin D has been added to the yogurt. Blue Bunny and Dannon are two brands that have fortified vitamin D in the yogurt. Our bodies can also make vitamin D when exposed to sunshine for about 15 to 20 minutes a day.


Vitamin K

Vitamin K helps promote strong bones by binding calcium and other minerals to the bone. Dark leafy green vegetables such as spinach, kale and dark-green pre-packaged salad blends provide the most vitamin K in the diet.

Try the recipe below with a tall glass of skim milk to get lots of bone healthy calcium.



Buttery cinnamon french toast

Serves 6



All you need:

1 cup skim milk

1/2 cup egg substitute

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

6 tablespoon butter, divided

12 slices cinnamon bread

1/2 cup pancake syrup



All you do:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, egg substitute, vanilla and cinnamon. Set aside.

2. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, melt 1 tbsp of spread over medium heat. Dip 3 slices of bread into milk mixture. Add to skillet and cook 5 minutes or until golden, turning once.

3. Repeat with remaining slices of bread.

4. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt remaining 2 tbsp spread and syrup until smooth.

5. Drizzle syrup over toast before serving.

Daily nutritional values:

6 percent vitamin A, 0 percent vitamin C, 20 percent calcium, 20 percent iron.



Nutrition information per serving:

Calories: 310; Carbohydrate: 50 grams; Cholesterol: 0 miligrams; Dietary Fiber: 2 grams; Fat: 9 grams; Protein: 9 grams; Sodium: 360 miligrams; Sugar: 26 grams.