Source:
https://scmp.com/article/538205/make-no-bones-about-calcium

Make no bones about calcium

Our bodies build and rebuild our bones every day. How much we build depends on many things, but the food we eat and the type of exercise we do are especially important.

Calcium is a mineral which helps the body build strong bones and teeth. It is found in milk, cheese, yoghurt, green leafy vegetables such as broccoli, kai lan and pak choi, tofu, soya milk with added calcium, and fish with edible bones such as canned sardines and salmon.

If you don't eat enough calcium when you are growing, your bones won't be strong enough to support you when you get older.

You can get enough calcium from a daily glass of calcium-rich soy milk or low fat milk, half a cup of tofu, a pot of low fat yogurt, a serving of broccoli and a serving of kai lan.

Calcium doesn't work alone to build strong bones - vitamin D and vitamin C help you to absorb calcium from food.

You can get vitamin C from oranges, orange juice, strawberries, watermelon, broccoli and sugar snap peas.

Although butter, milk, egg yolk and oily fish such as salmon and mackerel contain vitamin D, the main source is the sun. Your body makes vitamin D when your skin is exposed to sunlight. Being in the sun for about 10 to 15 minutes three times a week is enough to make sufficient vitamin D.

To build bones, you also have to use them. Although all exercise is good for maintaining health, some types are especially important for strengthening bones.

Activities that keep you on your feet so that your legs carry your body weight, such as running, jumping, climbing stairs, hiking, tennis, basketball, dancing, aerobics, and football, are good for the bones. Try to do at least 20 minutes of these types of exercises a day.

As you get older, you stop being able to build bones. So think of your bones as a savings account into which you deposit calcium from the food you eat and drink. Your bones store up the calcium to build your bones now and to keep them strong when you get older.

Time is short though - you can only build up a reserve of calcium during your teenage and young adult years. After that, you will spend more calcium than you will be able to deposit.