As you get older, your bones can become more fragile. You’re more at risk for losing bone, making too little bone, or both.

About nine million Americans have osteoporosis.1 But most people don’t even know they have it. Until they break a bone.

The drugs prescribed to treat osteoporosis all have fairly small benefits with lots of serious side effects. They can cause all of those “usual” side effects you hear about…abnormal heart beat, joint and muscle pain…

And then they can cause those ironic side effects, like bone loss in your jaw. In fact, using these drugs for a long time can even up your risk of certain types of fractures.

There’s a safer choice that helps your bones use calcium and spur new bone growth.

This juicy fruit not only tastes great, it steels you against osteoporosis…

Strawberries are delicious bone saving treats. They’re packed full of antioxidants, particularly vitamin C. Out of 1,000 foods, strawberries ranked third in the amount of antioxidants per serving.3 Pretty impressive for such a delicious food.

Vitamin C prevents bone loss by stimulating bone formation.4 It does this by growing premature bone cells called osteoblasts into mature cells.

Strawberries are also full of manganese, calcium, potassium, and vitamin K. All of these help create bone.5 Manganese assists in connective tissue and bone formation. Calcium helps develop and maintain bones. If you don’t get enough of these nutrients, your body will rob calcium from your teeth and your bones. That will later cause problems like expensive dental bills and broken bones.

Potassium helps increase bone density and reduces bone absorption by neutralizing acids. Vitamin K forms a protein found only in bone called osteocalcin. It helps your body create new bone.

The typical American diet lacks most of these nutrients. On top of that, phosphoric acid from sodas, foods high in sugar, sodium, and bad fats all contribute to poor bone health. They suck the calcium and other bone building nutrients right out of your bones.

But strawberries do just the opposite. All of the nutrients found in strawberries make your bones stronger.

Strawberries taste great on almost anything. Add them to your salad or cereal. Eat them alone or in your smoothie. Add them to your guacamole, your balsamic vinaigrette, or your applesauce for a hint of sweetness.

Maintaining a healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables—especially strawberries—will ward off bone fractures and osteoporosis. The more you include now in your diet, the better your bones will be to you later.

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References:
1 http://www.nof.org/articles/7″>http://www.nof.org/articles/7
2 http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/04/popular-osteoporosis-drugs-come-with-mounting-concerns/index.htm
3 http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/04/popular-osteoporosis-drugs-come-with-mounting-concerns/index.htm
4 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=16825686
5 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23056580″>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23056580
6 http://www.uio.no/studier/emner/medisin/nutri/ERN3120/v12/ERN3120-Unit3-Student/06%20Literature%20Assignment/Osteoporosis%20and%20Micronutrients.pdf