Tips to make your bones strong and healthy

By Mehmet Oz, M.D. and Michael Roizen, M.D.

When it comes to preventing aging, you need to think about your inner strength. We don't just mean how you respond to adversity. We mean your skeleton. Certain things you do can sap the strength right out of your bones:

– Skeleton drain: Colas and other caffeinated drinks

Change it: It's not the carbonation, it's probably the 16 phosphates in caffeinated drinks that rob your bones of calcium. So for every 12-ounce caffeinated soft drink and every four-ounce cup of coffee you have, add 20 more milligrams of calcium to your day (on top of the recommended 1,500 mg a day).

– Skeleton drain: Bad timing

Change it : You can absorb only about 600 mg calcium in a two-hour period, so you need to spread the doses throughout the day. You also need to get 1,000 IU of vitamin D-3 a day. It helps remodel bone — and allows calcium to get where it's needed.

– Skeleton drain: Too much protein

Change it: A protein-heavy diet can make your blood more acidic, and your body steals calcium from your bones to neutralize that acid. Don't count on supplements to pay down the whole deficit; it's better to eat right to begin with. Eat no more than one-half gram of protein for every pound you weigh.

source: kelowna