A healthy skeletal structure is critical for us to perform our daily tasks well. From our teeth, ribs, backbone, legs, and arms, to the bones that make up our skull, we need them proper functional to perform well, everything. So here are the best foods for healthy bones that will keep you fit.
Several vitamins and minerals can help in the overall health of your bones, but there are two that are more essential than the rest: Calcium and Vitamin D. We need calcium to strengthen our bones and teeth, whereas vitamin D is required to absorb the calcium to support healthy bone growth.
Best Foods for Healthy Bones
Dairy
Dairy products such as milk, cheese, and yogurt carry that all-important calcium. One meal of each of these foods will provide you up to 30% of your everyday needs. And with many of these products being enriched with vitamin D, you can enjoy the double dose.
Beef Liver
As for cows, it isn’t merely calcium that they provide that benefits our bones. Inside a cow’s liver is that calcium absorbing element of vitamin D. In one plateful size (81g), you get 7% of your prescribed regular vitamin D.
Leafy Greens
Leafy greens, especially kale and collard greens are not only remarkably healthful but are rich in calcium. For example, one bowl of cooked collard greens has 266 mg (a quarter of the amount you need daily).
Salmon
Most of the people go for adding salmon as food for those all-required healthy fats, but most often look beyond its other advantages like vitamin D. One ounce of salmon will provide you over ⅓ of your everyday vitamin D.
Mushrooms
Mushrooms are the only vegetarian diet that can produce vitamin D naturally. This is because ergosterol, a pro-vitamin contained within mushrooms, is transformed into vitamin D2 when exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiations. This method is much like what happens when your skin absorbs vitamin when exposed to the sun.
Eggs
In order to include eggs on this list, they should have both calcium and vitamin D and most definitely they have! Eggs are rich in vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats, protein.
One large egg contains 41 International Units (IU) of vitamin D and 28 mg of calcium. Just remember that if you want to just eat the white part, you will only be getting 2mg of calcium and certainly no vitamin D as most of the bone-healthy nutrients are contained within the egg’s tasty yolk.
