[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/bone-nutrition\/essential-nutrients-building-better-bones\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/bone-nutrition\/essential-nutrients-building-better-bones\/","headline":"Essential nutrients for building better bones","name":"Essential nutrients for building better bones","description":"Print PDF eBook Facebook Twitter Gmail LinkedIn Pinterest We\u2019ve all seen those ads in magazines where celebrities (often athletes) with painted-on milk moustaches promote milk\u2019s value for bone health \u2014 a terrific marketing tactic, but sadly lacking when explaining how proper nutrition and proper bone health go hand in hand. What those ads don\u2019t say […]","datePublished":"2015-05-11","dateModified":"2026-04-22","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/author\/brownbetterbonesgmail-com\/#Person","name":"Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD","url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/author\/brownbetterbonesgmail-com\/","identifier":72,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8e08d87bd45250c6616e1752933a6576aba077f335d97ee337a0cde5e435cbd3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8e08d87bd45250c6616e1752933a6576aba077f335d97ee337a0cde5e435cbd3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Center for Better Bones","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Better-Bones-AMP.png","url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Better-Bones-AMP.png","width":150,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/iStock_000005529867Small_nuts_berries_chart.jpg","url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/iStock_000005529867Small_nuts_berries_chart.jpg","height":567,"width":847},"url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/bone-nutrition\/essential-nutrients-building-better-bones\/","about":["Bone Nutrition"],"wordCount":945,"keywords":["alkaline diet","bone building nutrients","calcium"],"articleBody":" Print PDF eBook\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFacebook\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTwitter\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGmail\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLinkedIn\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPinterest\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWe\u2019ve all seen those ads in magazines where celebrities (often athletes) with painted-on milk moustaches promote milk\u2019s value for bone health \u2014 a terrific marketing tactic, but sadly lacking when explaining how proper nutrition and proper bone health go hand in hand. What those ads don\u2019t say \u2014 and what many people just don\u2019t realize \u2014 is that healthy bones are an impossible dream without a balanced intake of vitamins, minerals, proteins, fatty acids, and other important nutrients. Obtaining that intake requires a great deal more than just milk! Particularly since, despite America\u2019s wealth as a nation, most of us do not consume food that contains adequate amounts of many essential nutrients.Hard to believe? In a 1981 USDA survey that studied the three-day food intake of 21,500 people, not a single person surveyed consumed 100% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of all 10 essential nutrients studied. Substantial numbers of people consumed less than 70% of the RDA for several nutrients \u2014 and that was before fast food restaurants became ubiquitous!The average American diet is not only nutritionally inadequate, it is also imbalanced. On any given day, 50% of us eat no fruit, and 25% of us eat no vegetables. At the same time, Americans consume approximately 20% of their calories from refined sugars and sweeteners, 30% from refined grains, and often, 40% as fat. Additionally, many people consume 10% of calories from alcohol. What this all boils down to is frightening. Our bodies are depending on a small percentage of our caloric intake to provide us with all the essential nutrients we need to build and maintain strong and healthy bones. Our country\u2019s standard diet of fast food, fatty food, and food that is very acidifying is literally robbing our bones of the nutrients they need to remain strong and healthy.This constant imbalance of nutrient deficiency and excess can present significant problems for maintaining bone health. The chemistry of the human body operates best in an alkaline state, with a pH of about 7.4. The body\u2019s pH level is so critical, it has many checks and balances to make sure it stays in line. If a diet is too high in acid-forming foods, the body reacts by drawing alkalinizing mineral compounds from bones to buffer this acidity and alkalize the body. While our bones do not suffer from an occasional withdrawal of their alkalizing mineral reserves, excessive and prolonged acidity can drain bone of alkali mineral reserves and lead to bone thinning.Table of ContentsToggle     4 Minutes ReadEating for better bonesOur most popular resources on nutrition & bone healthEating for better bonesWhen it comes to bone health, there\u2019s a single goal: to maximize the intake of nutrient-dense, bone-building whole foods and minimize the intake of substances that make the body more acid. Sound simple? Maybe, but in today\u2019s fast-paced society, following this \u201csimple\u201d recipe is difficult at best, and it was likely much easier for our ancestors than it is for us. Living off the land and sea provided our ancestors with a variety of nutrient-rich, whole foods that could be harvested directly and dried, steamed, or preserved in other ways for use in winter. Even more recent generations of our ancestors \u2014 our grandparents \u2014 could not have located, much less purchased and consumed, much of the unwholesome foods that line today\u2019s supermarket shelves. Of the 25,000 products typically available in an American supermarket, only a fraction of them are actually nutritious, whole foods. Many of the offerings are not only highly processed, but also largely synthetic. So for us, the challenge is to dodge all the clever marketing strategies designed to attract us to packages and find the good foods hidden among the junk.If bone health is your goal, here\u2019s a simple way to start: change what you put on your plate at mealtimes. First, eat meals composed largely of fresh fruits and vegetables, organically grown whenever possible, that have undergone very little processing before they come to your plate. It\u2019s okay if you include some processed foods, but try to make your diet mostly fresh, whole foods. Second, make sure you are choosing foods that promote your body\u2019s acid\/alkaline balance \u2014 which is easy if you follow the first suggestion, as most of the alkalizing foods you can obtain are fresh fruits and vegetables! Third, when you shop in a grocery store, stick to the outer aisles \u2014 the produce section and the areas where fresh meats and fish are sold. The highly processed foods you want to avoid are in the center aisles, so skip those. And finally, take a high-quality multivitamin that provides all of the nutrients you need as \u201cinsurance,\u201d especially if you find yourself unable to always eat healthy foods.You can find many more suggestions for improving your bone health using nutrition and diet in the articles listed below:Our most popular resources on nutrition & bone healthThe calcium mythNutrition for healthy bones requires much more than just calcium. BetterBones.com explains the importance of 20 key nutrients for bone health.20 essential bone-building nutrients \u2014 an overviewFor many years, calcium was viewed as the all-important nutrient for bone health. Every day we are learning more about the many other minerals, vitamins, and macronutrients that are crucial for healthy bones. Join us as we pick our top 20 bone-building nutrients, touch on how they work in the body, and review how much you really need to keep your bones strong across a lifetime.Ten steps to better digestionKey steps on strengthening digestion for stronger bones. Ten steps to better nutrition and bone health from Better Bones. "},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Bone Nutrition","item":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/bone-nutrition\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Essential nutrients for building better bones","item":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/bone-nutrition\/essential-nutrients-building-better-bones\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]