12 Ways To Break-Proof Your Bones (2024)

If you've never broken a bone yourself, you certainly know someone who has—and most of them, we're going to bet, are women. "One out of every two women over the age of 50 will break a bone in their lifetime due to osteoporosis," says Ethel Siris, MD, director of the Toni Stabile Center for Osteoporosis at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City. As if that's not bad enough, those casts can come with a long recovery time, a drained savings account, disability, and even premature death. Here's how to protect your bones to keep them strong and healthy for the long haul.

"Women reach their peak bone mass by age 30, and then your bones do something called remodeling, where you replace your whole skeleton every seven years," says Dr. Sirius. "Also, your estrogen levels drop off naturally after menopause, which depletes your skeleton of calcium and further contributes to bone loss." To maintain your bones, postmenopausal women need 1,200 mg of calcium daily (compared to 1,000 mg for premenopausal women). The best food sources are low-fat dairy (think: yogurt, milk, cheese), but other sources include leafy greens, sardines, and fortified cereals and juices. If you think you're falling short of your goal, take a 500 mg calcium supplement to fill the gap.

Starting a daily yoga practice could be a relaxing way to protect your skeleton. According to a pilot study inTopics in Geriatric Rehabilitation, patients suffering from bone loss who did 10 minutes of yoga daily for two years increased bone density in their hips and spines, while the non-yogis in the control group had continued bone loss. Moreover, yoga can improve your balance and therefore cut your risk of falls—and broken bones! If you have weak bones, skip the power kind, such as ashtanga, and go for gentler yin or restorative yoga classes instead.

Many commonly prescribed drugs can impact bone density—steroids, such as for rheumatoid arthritis or asthma; proton pump inhibitors taken for stomach and digestion issues; and SSRIs used to treat depression, to name a few. Ask your doctor whether any new medications can affect your bone health, and he or she can develop a game plan for counteracting any bone-thinning effects.

A 2008 study published in theJournal of Bone and Mineral Researchfound that only 30 percent of women in their mid-60s had undergone a bone scan—and thus, wouldn't even know if they were at risk for osteoporosis. If you're in your 50s or 60s and broke a bone during a fall, it could be a red flag that you have thin bones and should get tested. If you don't have any risk factures, such as a previously broken bone, then you can delay getting a bone density test until 65, says Dr. Sirius. All women, regardless of whether they've broken a bone, should get tested at 65.

"Being overly thin or having an eating disorder is a problem for your bones because you may be depriving them of protein," says Dr. Sirius. "If you're constantly dieting to be excessively thin, you're weakening your bones and putting yourself at greater risk for osteoporosis." Speak to your doctor if you're struggling to keep on pounds, and if you suspect you have an eating disorder, check outThe National Association for Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, Inc.

Yet another reason to throw out your cigarettes: Nicotine and free radicals may harm your body's bone-making cells known as osteoblasts, and smoking ups your risk of fractures, according to researchers at Royal Melbourne Hospital in Australia. The good news is that it's never too late to quit. It only took one year of being smoke-free for postmenopausal women to score improved bone density compared with women who kept puffing, according to a study in the Journal of Women's Health.

Exercise is good for whittling your waist, and it also helps strengthen your skeleton. Case in point: Athletes across all sports (especially weight-lifting, gymnastics, and soccer) have a 13 percent higher bone density than non-athletes, according to a study by the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. You don't have to be an Olympic qualifier to reap exercise's bone-building benefits. "Moderate exercise, such as lifting weights or brisk walking, can help counteract age-related bone loss to some degree, but it more importantly strengthens your muscles to improve balance and keep you as strong as possible to lower your chances of a fall-related fracture," says Dr. Sirius. If you can't fit in a 30-minute workout every day, try doing three 10-minute sessions.