You need sufficient calcium to strengthen your bones and vitamin D to help your body absorb calcium.Poor bone health can cause conditions such as rickets and osteoporosis and increase the risk of breaking a bone from a fall later in life.
You should be able to get all the nutrients you need for healthy bones by eating a healthy balanced diet.A good diet is only one of the building blocks for healthy bones, which also includes physical activity and avoiding certain risk factors.
General population
Adults need 700mg of calcium a day. You should be able to get all the calcium you need by eating a varied and balanced diet.Good sources of calcium include:
- milk, cheese and other dairy foods
- green leafy vegetables, such as broccoli, cabbage and okra, but not spinach
- soya beans
- tofu
- soya drinks with added calcium
- nuts
- bread and anything made with fortified flour
- fish where you eat the bones, such as sardines and pilchards
Although spinach might appear to contain a lot of calcium, it also contains oxalic acid, which reduces calcium absorption, and it is therefore not a good source of calcium.
