Bone Health and Dairy Free

Bone health is something we often take for granted whilst young, fit and well but shocking statistics indicate that we should be taking much more care, especially if following a Milk Free or Dairy Free diet. One in two women and one in five men over 50 will break a bone, mainly due to osteoporosis. To reduce fracture risk young people need to build up a good bone mass and key elements of this include plenty of weight-bearing activity and a diet providing adequate calcium.

The main dietary sources of calcium are milk and dairy foods so if you avoid these foods it is crucial to include plenty of calcium-rich alternatives in your diet. The recommended intake of calcium for adults is 700mg per day – use the table below to check that you are achieving this.

Note how low in calcium the unfortified products are. Always check the label and if calcium is not listed assume it is not fortified.

Food 100g	Calcium mg	Food 100g	Calcium mg
Dairy (Cow’s milk) Milk Cheese (hard) Soft cheese Yogurt Ice cream Milk chocolate	120 740+ 230 120+ 100+ 240	Fruit and Veg Figs (dried) Watercress Spinach / curly kale Currants Apricots (dried) Olives in brine	250 170 150 93 73 61
Dairy alternatives Soya milk, fortified Organic soya milk Goat’s milk Sheep’s milk Rice milk Rice milk, fortified Goat’s cheese Soya yogurt, fortified Organic soya yogurt Soya custard Ice cream, non-dairy	120 12 120 170 8 120 360+ 120+ 13 120 72	Other Tofu Tahini / Sesame seeds Sardines, tinned Red kidney beans Soya beans Almonds Brazil nuts Salmon, tinned Fruit juice with calcium White bread   Certain fortified breakfast cereals (including Cheerios*, Frosties**, Honey nut loops**)	500 680 430+ 100 83 240 170 91 120 177 267*/456**

 Other diet tips for bone health:

• Get plenty of sunlight on your skin in the summer months to generate Vitamin D.
• Avoid too much caffeine, fizzy drinks, salt and alcohol and don’t let yourself become underweight.
• If you are unable to achieve the recommended amount of calcium on a milk free or dairy free diet or then you may benefit from a supplement.