Four foods surprisingly good for healthy bones
Prunes, onions, salmon and walnuts are all beneficial for bone health - on top of milk and other dairy products
When I say "food for healthy bones", what springs to mind?
Milk, of course. That connection is taught to us early on, and rightfully so. Milk and the products made from it — yogurt, cheese, etc. — are packed not only with calcium, but several bone-beneficial nutrients, including protein, magnesium, potassium and, if fortified, vitamin D.
But there is a lot more to the bone-health nutrition story than we learned in elementary school. In fact, there are several foods that you might be surprised, even shocked, to learn are good for your bones.
Prunes
Prunes, which are dried plums, are commonly associated with digestive health, but they "have a magical power in terms of bone", says Shirin Hooshmand, a San Diego State University assistant professor whose extensive research in animals and humans shows that eating the fruit can reverse and prevent bone loss. According to her latest, yet-to-be-published study, all it takes is five or six medium prunes a day to get this bone-preserving effect.
Eating lots of fruits and vegetables, in general, makes for stronger bones, whether you are eight or 80 years old. It’s a point that is well established in the research but is somehow still news to some people.
Scientists haven’t pinned down exactly how produce helps your bones, but they think it has to do with the polyphenols and other antioxidant-like compounds in plant foods, plus the potassium, magnesium and vitamin K they contain, all of which are key for building and sustaining our skeleton. Also, fruits and vegetables have an alkalising effect on the body’s acid-base balance, which may help prevent calcium excretion and maintain bone. But some fruits and vegetables have been shown to be more potent than others when it comes to bone health, and prunes are among the heavy hitters with the most solid research behind them.
Onions
Onions? Really? That was my first reaction to reading studies on this, but it’s true. The aromatic root has been identified as one of the foods with the most bone-helping potential, probably because of the type of polyphenol it contains. One study published in the journal Menopause revealed that women who ate onions daily had 5 per cent more bone mass than those who ate them once a month or less.