Add these foods to your diet for stronger bones

What to eat if you want stronger bones

Today's blog is brought to you by strong bones!

And just for a change, my focus this week is what to EAT to keep your bones strong.

Of course, let's take it as read that if you're over thirty you need to do weight bearing exercise at least a couple of days per week. This could be body-weight exercise, like Pilates or PiYo, or lifting weights..just do the exercise!.

Right, let's crack on:

1. Calcium

Your bones act as a storage reservoir for this essential nutrient that's needed for nerve and muscle function, and to ensure proper blood clotting.

If you're not getting enough calcium in your diet, your body will start pilfering it from your bones....and this leads to greater risk of bone fractures.

While you can certainly supplement to make sure you're getting enough (1-1.2g/ day), it's preferable to get your fix via your diet.

So, what should you eat more of to get more calcium?

- Dairy products such as milk, yoghurt, and cheese

- Leafy green vegetables like spinach and kale

- Salmon, sardines

- Tofu

3. Magnesium

As well as helping with sleep quality and quantity; and with muscle recovery, magnesium has been shown to increase bone density too.

Your best foods for magnesium are:

- Seeds and nuts such as pumpkin, peanuts, almonds, cashews.

- Black beans and edamame beans

- Whole grains like quinoa, freekeh, buckwheat and barley

- Spinach ( I mean, damn, spinach is gooooood!)

- Avocado

- Dark chocolate

So, to finish today's blog, I thought I'd share some quick and easy recipes that you can add to your rota for increased bone health.

I would love to say these are my recipes, but I found them on Pinterest!

1. Salmon Florentine - includes salmon (natch!), spinach, cream for loads of calcium and vitamin D. Serve it with some freekeh on the side.

2. Quinoa, Black Bean and Avocado Salad - this one is super rich in magnesium

3. Tofu Buddha Bowl with Peanut Sauce - you can also replace the white rice with brown.

Hope you enjoy the recipes!