The brittle bone disease osteoporosis may be seen as an inevitable part of aging, but it doesn’t have to be. Even though the disease is quite common, there is a lot you can do to protect your bones from this crippling condition.

Your best bet is to achieve your highest bone density possible by the time you reach the age of 40. Past the age of 40, you will begin to lose more bone than what you retain so you’ll want to maximize your efforts in keeping your bones strong preventing the likelihood of a fracture.

Even if you have already reached midlife or beyond, there is still many things you can do to preserve the bone you have. One method is engaging in weight-bearing exercise such as walking. A daily walk for at least 30 minutes can do wonders in retaining and maintaining your bones keeping osteoporosis at bay. Other weight-bearing exercises include running, jogging, jumping rope, or dancing.

Nutrition wise, there are two minerals that critical for keeping bones strong – calcium and vitamin D.

Calcium

The most abundant mineral found in the human body, calcium is well-known for building bone, keeping bones strong and slowing the pace of bone loss.

The recommended daily intake for calcium is 1,000 milligrams (mg) a day for adults up through age 50 and 1,200 mg a day for people ages 51 and up. The higher amount for people ages 51 and older is necessary as bone loss accelerates as we age. This is due to the intestines absorbing less calcium from the diet and the kidneys become less efficient at conserving calcium. When this begins to happen, your body will take calcium from bone necessary for various metabolic functions.

If may be tempting to want to increase the amount of calcium above and beyond what is recommended for each day but this is not advisable as too much calcium can be unhealthy for us. The tolerable upper intake level recommended for calcium is 2,500 mg a day for adults up to age 50 and 2,000 mg for adults ages 51 and older. Some research suggests that a high calcium intake may increase the risk of prostate cancer. Men should not take calcium supplements or too many calcium-rich antacids.

Vitamin D

You can be taking in the recommended amount of calcium each day, but if you are not obtaining sufficient vitamin D, it won’t matter. In order for calcium to be absorbed and utilized in the body, there has to be enough vitamin D. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium and some researchers believe increasing vitamin D may help prevent osteoporosis.

Food sources of vitamin D are minimal but some of the best ones include milk fortified (meaning vitamin D has been added to the food) with vitamin D, fortified breakfast cereals, eggs, salmon, cod liver oil, and vitamin D supplements. Some brands of yogurt and orange juice are also now fortified with vitamin D.

The best natural source of vitamin D is the sun. A small amount of sun exposure can help your body make its own vitamin D. This requires anywhere from five to 30 minutes of sunlight (the lighter skinned you are the less time needed) between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. twice a week to your face, arms, legs or back without sunscreen.

If your food sources of vitamin D are lacking or you do not get sufficient sun exposure, some experts advise getting 1,000 IU of vitamin D daily from a supplement. Always check with your physician on their advice.