Bones need more than milk (and calcium)

Bones need calcium, we were all told as children; but just drinking milk does not mean you will have healthy bones. — dpa

It's good for your bones.

For generations, we’ve been telling our children to down glasses of milk to stock up on calcium.

Is it just a myth created by the dairy industry?

To answer this question, we need to take a step back.

Countless children are told to be good and drink their milk, with their parents preaching that this is the key to strong, healthy bones.

But is this really the only way to go?

Experts say, rather than focusing on cheese and yoghurt, a good balance of calcium-rich foods (which doesn’t mean only dairy), vitamin D and exercise is important.

Dairy products are indeed rich in calcium, and an adequate calcium balance is vital for the human body.

This is not just in the early stages of life, but later on as well, to prevent diseases like osteoporosis, for example.

“This mineral is an essential component of skeletal mass,” explains Professor Diana Rubin, board member of the German Society for Nutritional Medicine (DGEM).

Around 98% of the calcium in the body is found in the bones – and thus, is a decisive factor in terms of their stability.

But even though calcium is important for bone stability, the mineral needs help.

“Without vitamin D, calcium cannot be incorporated into the bones,” says Professor Achim Bub, head of the Study Centre for Human Nutrition at the German Federal Research Institute for Nutrition and Food.

In the sun, the body forms a precursor of the vitamin via UV (ultraviolet) radiation on the skin.

In this way, a large part of the vitamin D requirement is covered.

Fish, especially fatty sea fish such as herring or salmon, can also help to supply the needed vitamin D.

But there is another key factor when it comes to healthy bones: exercise.

“Physical exercise creates a certain form of stress in the body,” Prof Bub says.

“The muscles and bones continue to build up over time to be able to handle that stress.”

Banking on dairy is therefore not enough to keep your bones healthy.

And with more and more people looking to increasingly avoid animal products, it is worth looking into some other foods with a high calcium intake.

While cow milk is often thought to be more nutritious than its plant-based alternatives, many manufacturers also add calcium to the latter now, so the requirement can also be met in this way.

Another lesser known option to keep tabs on your calcium intake is mineral water, which also contains calcium that is “just as readily available to the body as it is from dairy products,” explains Prof Bub.

For comparison: a glass of milk contains some 240mg of calcium, while a litre of mineral water may contain 300mg and more.

There are also numerous vegetables that provide calcium, including kale, spinach, arugula and broccoli.

The German Nutrition Society recommends a daily calcium intake of 1,200mg for teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18, and 1,000mg for adults. – dpa

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