You want healthy bones – strong enough to withstand the onslaught of old age. Here are some foods you can incorporate into your diet today – they are rich in calcium and other bone-strengthening nutrients. Eat them to maintain active and healthy bones while fending off the gradual loss of bone density.

Start your day with citrus fruits

A grapefruit to your breakfast does more than waking your taste buds; it is also rich in vitamin C, a known nutrient for bone health. Take a full pink or red grapefruit for 91 mg of vitamin C which is enough to see you through the whole day. If you’re averse to the sourness, then substitute with an orange.

Get figgy with it

For five medium-sized fresh figs, you get about 90 mg of calcium which is what you need for a day. It is not only high in calcium but also packed full with other bone-strengthening minerals like potassium and magnesium. Can’t lay your hands on fresh ones – go for dry ones they’re just as good.

Green veggies

Green leafy vegetables such as kale, Chinese cabbage, bok choy, turnip greens, and collard greens are known for their high calcium content. A substantial meal with a generous serving of greens provides at least 200 mg of calcium, and that’s about 20% of your daily requirements.

Baked sweet potato

Two essential minerals crucial to healthy bones are magnesium and potassium. Low magnesium level in the body affects your vitamin D balance which in turn affects your bone health, while potassium inhibits acids in the body which can cause calcium loss. So it’s essential to top-up on these two nutrients – and one way of doing that is eating baked sweet potatoes with no salt.

Almond butter

Almond contains an array of nutrients that play different roles in building and maintaining healthy bones. Rich in calcium, potassium and protein, two teaspoons of this butter contains 112 mg of calcium, 240 mg of potassium and other bone-friendly minerals.

Go for fatty fish

Fatty fishes such as salmon are an excellent source of bone-building nutrients. You’d be getting calcium, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids. Vitamin D aids in calcium absorption, while omega-3 acids may also help in bone health in some way.

A canned salmon provides about 183 mg of calcium giving you the nutrients you need to maintain a robust and healthy bone.

Go for a natural sweetener

Instead of using refined white sugar, go for natural sweeteners such as molasses which is an excellent source of calcium. You can use it to bake, mix it into your oatmeal, or toss with some fruits for a refreshing smoothie.

Go for prune

This often ignored fruit is a dried plum – yep that’s right. When eaten with calcium and vitamin D, it can help improve bone density thereby slowing down osteoporosis (a gradual breakdown of bone in the body).