Pizza, Chili, and Your Bones
The best bone foods are calcium-rich milk, cheese, yogurt -- even ice cream, right?
Surprise! Add tomato paste, spinach, bananas, dried apricots, and baked potatoes to the list. Turns out that, just like the rest of you, your bones need fruits and veggies. They're top sources for two other bone-essential minerals -- potassium and magnesium -- as well as some additional protective nutrients. By the way, tomato paste is a good source of both of the minerals and a classic base for pizza sauce and chili.
Although the results haven't really registered yet with grocery shoppers, a series of studies from the 1990s to 2006 has revealed that people with a history of eating lots of fruits and vegetables have healthier bones than people who skimp on their servings of these important foods. It doesn't matter whether they're teenagers, 30-something females, menopausal women, or adults 60 and up: Fruit-and-veggie eaters have better bones. Here are some easy ways to start giving yours the same nutritional TLC.
POTASSIUM
RealAge Optimum (RAO) for men and women:
3,000 milligrams (mg)
Dried apricot halves -- 1,510 mg per cup
Tomato paste -- 1,340 mg per half cup
Baked potato -- 780 mg
Banana -- 450 mg
MAGNESIUM
RAO for women: 400 mg a day; for men: at least 333 mg
Soybeans -- 80 mg per half cup
Tomato paste -- 75 mg per half cup
Cooked spinach -- 75 mg per half cup
Oatmeal -- 55 mg per cup
Fruit and vegetable intakes and bone mineral status: a cross sectional study in 5 age and sex cohorts. Prynne, C. J., Mishra, G. D., O'Connell, M. A., Muniz, G., Laskey, M. A., Yan, L., Prentice, A., Ginty, F., American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2006 Jun;83(6):1420-1428.
