Stave off weak bones with proper vitamin D, exercise and the right diet

Romantic comedies. Pedicures. Makeup. There are some things men think are for women only. Most they can ignore, but osteoporosis shouldn’t be one of them. Mistakenly thought of as a disease that only afflicts women, the degenerative condition will cause one out of every four men older than 50 to break a bone. And as the population ages, those numbers are expected to increase.

“It’s a great idea to build up your bone bank in youth and middle age,” says Dr. Felicia Cosman, an osteoporosis specialist at Helen Hayes Hospital in West Haverstraw, N.Y. “Take the right preventive steps and, with the right medication, you can stop osteoporosis before it starts.”

It’s time to bone up on the best ways to prevent, slow or even stop the weakening of our body’s infrastructure.

Get enough calcium

Calcium is the all-important mineral that adds strength, and hardens your skeletal framework. According to the Institute of Medicine, men should get 1,000 milligrams daily until age 70, then 1,200 milligrams daily after 70 to promote good bone health. You can get this from your diet, and add a supplement if you need to.

“It is important to stick to a diet adequate in calcium content, which can include low-fat dairy foods; green vegetables, such as kale, spinach and collards; and ocean fish, like salmon and trout,” says Dr. Gerald Eisenberg, director of rheumatology at the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute.

Men who take a calcium carbonate dietary supplement should keep the dosage at or under 500 milligrams for best absorption.

Too much caffeine interferes with the body’s ability to absorb calcium. So try to resist that third cup of coffee.

Get enough vitamin D

According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, men should get 400 to 800 international units (IU) per day up to age 50, and 1,000 IU after age 50 to promote good bone health.

One serving of milk has 100 IU of vitamin D, and some orange juices and cereals are fortified with vitamin D. But it is tough to get adequate vitamin D from food alone, so supplements can help here, too. There are plenty of inexpensive vitamin D supplements that offer 1,000 IU per tablet. Just don’t go overboard.

“You need to get adequate vitamin D and calcium. Not extra—adequate,” says Dr. Ethel Siris, director of the Toni Stabile Osteoporosis Center at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. “Know your vitamin D level. It’s cheap and easy to take a D supplement.”

Your body produces vitamin D when exposed to the sun, and studies show older men lose more bone mass during winter because of a lack of sun exposure. So take a 15-minute walk in the sunshine.

Mix up your exercise

Regular exercise is a staple for good bone health, but you need two different types, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. The best exercises for building and maintaining bone density are weight-bearing exercises, such as walking and playing basketball, which make you work against gravity while staying upright; and muscle-strengthening exercises, such as weightlifting, which make you work against gravity in a standing, sitting or prone position.

Non-impact activities, such as balance, functional, and posture exercises like yoga and step aerobics may also benefit people with osteoporosis. Although these exercises don’t build or maintain bone density, they may increase muscle strength and decrease the risk of falls and fractures.

“Exercise is important to prevent falls,” says Dr. Amanda Myers, of the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute. “And diet and exercise together are important to maintain healthy bones.”