REDUCE

• Animal Protein.Too much meat - when it's digested - creates an acid imbalance in your stomach, and calcium is taken from your bones to neutralize this stomach acid. Excess animal protein is not good for your bones (not to mention your saturated fat level…).
• Caffeine. Has a diuretic effect, which increases excretion of calcium in the urine.Limit to two cups a day. Try a good decaffeinated instead. Take up tea!
  
• Smoking. Decreases estrogen levels, reduces bone density. Major risk factor.
• Soda. BAAD for your bones! Excess phosphorous throws your calcium balance out of whack, plus the sugar and caffeine in soda make it a bad bone drink. And kids who drink too much soda aren't drinking the stuff that's good for them…
• Alcohol. Excess alcohol decreases the bone-building work of the osteoblasts. Plus, if you're drinking too much alcohol your nutrition is probably poor, and so is your balance, increasing the risk of falls and fractures.
• Sugar. Too much sugar causes an increase in the excretion of calcium from the urine.
  (It also adds excess calories that you might not need either!)
• Salt. Also increases the urinary excretion of calcium. Not good for high blood pressure.
  Go easy on the salt, and eat less processed foods and salty snacks.
  

MONITOR

• Calcium, Vitamin D, Magnesium, etc.. It's vital to get the right vitamins and minerals to keep your bones in the right balance. Learn to pay more attention to the nutritional value of what you eat - it's directly related to the health of your bones. Be sure to take a once-a-day multi-vitamin, plus supplements of other key nutrients if you need them.

INCREASE

• Vegetable Protein. If you're eating legumes, grains, nuts, etc. you're eating less animal protein, which is good news for your bones.
  Have you tried soy? Low in fat, reduces bad cholesterol, soy is a high quality protein, plus a source of calcium, magnesium, and other key vitamins. Plus, soy contains phytochemicals, good-for-you hormones that fight cancer and heart disease.
  
• Fruits and vegetables. Not only do these contain key bone vitamins and minerals, but they help to maintain a better balance of acid in the blood, without the need to leech nutrients from your bones.
  
• Whole Grains/ Nuts/Seeds... Whole grains contain a wealth of bone-building vitamins and minerals. So do nuts and seeds. They're full of protein, and the 'good fats' that lower your bad cholesterol. Nuts are satisfying, so you don't have to eat very many of them. A small handful of walnuts contain iron, magnesium, copper, potassium, calcium, selenium, B vitamins, Vitamin E, PLUS Omega 3 Fatty acids which are key to good heart health!

EXERCISE!

De-stress!

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