Top 5 Ways to Support Bone Health

April 03, 2025

A young woman eating yogurt on her sofa at home

Half of all women in the U.S. age 50 or older will break a bone because of osteoporosis, a disease that weakens bones and makes them brittle. Osteoporosis mostly affects older women, since bone loss speeds up as estrogen decreases during menopause.

“After menopause, it’s really crucial to focus on bone health because our hormone levels impact how quickly we build bone, or lose it,” says Stephanie Brode, DO, a board-certified family medicine physician at University Hospitals Western Reserve Physicians. “But even from a young age, knowing about bone health is important so you can make choices that will help prevent fractures later in life.”

Here are five ways women can keep their bones strong, even after menopause.

1: Follow a Bone-Healthy Diet

“Our diet is what gives us the essential nutrients that help us build bones,” says Brode. Eating for bone health means getting the right amount of calcium and vitamin D, along with plenty of protein and other bone-building nutrients.

How much do you need?

Calcium: Women over 50 should be getting 1,200 milligrams of calcium per day (1,000 milligrams for women 50 and under).
Vitamin D: This vitamin is needed to help absorb calcium. Currently, 600 IU per day is recommended for women through age 70 (800 IU per day, for women over 70).

Foods rich in bone-building nutrients:

Calcium-rich foods: Dairy (milk, yogurt, cheese), leafy greens (kale, spinach, collard greens, broccoli, bok choy) and fortified foods and drinks.
Vitamin D-rich foods: Fatty fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines), liver (including cod liver oil), mushrooms, eggs and fortified foods and drinks.
Protein: Beans, lentils, peas, lean cuts of meat, skinless poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, soy products (tofu, tempeh, edamame, soymilk), nuts, quinoa and other whole grains.
Other bone-healthy foods: Fruits (bananas, prunes, figs, raisins), vegetables (acorn squash, lima beans, skin-on potatoes) and healthy fats (olive oil, seeds).

2: Don’t Rely on Supplements Alone

New guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force no longer recommend calcium and vitamin D supplements for fracture prevention in older adults. Recent research has found these supplements don’t reduce the risk of fractures or falling, as previously thought, though the nutrients themselves are still vital for bone health and other body functions.

“Getting bone-healthy nutrients from your diet is always preferred,” says Brode. “You know exactly what you’re getting and it’s easier for your body to absorb nutrients from food than it is from supplements.” Supplements should only be used when you can’t get all the nutrients you need from food and drink. For example, it can be hard to get enough vitamin D from food alone, so your doctor may prescribe a vitamin D supplement.

“The research also suggested that high doses of calcium and vitamin D may actually lead to kidney stones or increased cardiovascular risk,” says Brode, which is another reason to aim to get your calcium and vitamin D through diet, if you can.

3: Commit to a Bone-Boosting Exercise Routine

Weight-bearing and resistance exercises help strengthen bones and muscles, improve balance and support overall bone health as you age. Be sure to include them in your regular workouts.

Weight-bearing exercises work by letting your bones support your weight against gravity. They include walking, running, hiking, aerobics, dancing, hula hooping, stair climbing, tennis, pickleball, tai chi and yoga.
Resistance exercises, or strength-training exercises, rely on an opposing force, like weights, bands or the weight of your body. They include weightlifting, push-ups, planks, leg lifts, squats, bicep curls and exercising with elastic bands or kettlebells.

“I am a huge fan of encouraging people to do exercises they enjoy, like dancing, lifting weights and even hula hooping,” says Brode. “It makes them more likely to keep exercising regularly.”

4: Discuss Long-Term Medications

Many commonly prescribed medications have side effects that can contribute to bone loss, weaken bones and increase the risk of fractures. If you’re taking any of these medications, it’s important to talk to your doctor about how they may affect your bone health, how often your bone density should be monitored, and what else you might be able to do to lessen your risk of drug-induced osteoporosis.

Medications that can be harmful bone health:

Corticosteroids
Immunosuppressants
Proton pump inhibitors
Depo-Provera injections
Thyroid treatment (in high doses)
Some cancer medications
Some antipsychotics, anticonvulsants and antiepileptic drugs

Additionally, Brode suggests talking to your doctor about using the lowest effective dose for the shortest time possible, and focusing on lifestyle changes that could be used in place of medication to reduce your risk of bone-related complications.

5: Prioritize Screenings and Personal Risk Factors

Women are at risk of developing osteoporosis as they age for several reasons, including bone loss, which happens naturally as they get older, and hormonal changes that occur around menopause.

It’s important for women aged 65 and older to get regular screenings to test their bone density and assess osteoporosis risk, as well as whether any treatment or lifestyle changes may be needed.

There are also other factors that put some women at higher risk, such as:

Early menopause: Declines in estrogen earlier in life can contribute to greater bone loss over a longer period.
Body size: Women who are slender and thin-boned are at greater risk for osteoporosis because they have less bone to draw from; obesity can also weaken bones.
Family history or race: If your parents had osteoporosis, you may be more likely to develop it. You may also be at higher risk if you are of white, Asian or Mexican descent.
History of falling: If you have osteoporosis and are prone to falling, you’re at higher risk of breaking bones, especially if you’ve broken a bone after age 50.
Health conditions: Crohn’s, celiac disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid disease, eating disorders and other conditions that affect absorption of calcium.

Maintaining bone health isn’t just about calcium, vitamin D and specific types of exercise. Women need to make smart choices about other things they can control too, like what they eat, activities they do and harmful things they can avoid, like smoking and drinking too much alcohol (current guidelines suggest one drink or less a day). “Our lifestyle choices are the most important thing,” says Brode. “It’s what we do on a day-to-day basis that makes a difference.”