Tips on how you can better support bone health to reduce the risk of fractures:

1. Consume a well-balanced diet rich in calcium and vitamin D.

A diet rich in calcium and vitamin D is important for building strong and healthy bones. Calcium plays many critical roles in your body, and enough intake of calcium is required to build strong bones. Vitamin D is also essential to support strong bones, as it is needed to absorb calcium. Eating a variety of foods and adding nutrition supplements to your diet can help you attain your daily calcium and vitamin D requirements³. 

Good sources of calcium include dairy foods (milk, yogurt, cheese), fish with edible bones (sardines, anchovies), tofu made with calcium salts, lentils, green leafy vegetables, and calcium-rich food such as bread, biscuits, and soybean milk. The recommended daily allowance set by the Health Promotion Board is between 800 mg to 1000 mg for adults⁴.

Food sources of vitamin D include eggs, liver, oily fish (salmon, sardine, mackerel), and fortified food products such as selected milk brands, soymilk, yogurt, orange juice, ready-to-eat cereals, and margarine⁵. Enough sun exposure also helps in the production of vitamin D3. The recommended daily allowance set by the US Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board is between 15 mcg to 20 mcg for adults⁶.

2. Engage in regular exercise 

Regular exercise is important for people with diabetes as it helps improve insulin sensitivity, which may help lower blood glucose levels. Additionally, it can also benefit you by helping prevent bone loss, enhancing balance and flexibility, and reducing the likelihood of falling. Ideal exercises for your bones are weight-bearing (walking, stair climbing, dancing) and resistance exercises (lifting weights)⁷.

3. Adopt a healthier lifestyle⁵

Removing unhealthy habits like smoking and alcohol consumption from your lifestyle can benefit your bones. Studies found that people who smoke may absorb less calcium from their diets, while heavy drinkers are more prone to bone loss and fracture because of poor nutrition and can also suffer an increased risk of falling.

Consult your healthcare professionals on how calcium and Vitamin D supplements may benefit you with your diabetes management plan!

¹ Diabetes and Fractures — An overshadowed association. Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2009 Dec; 16(6): 435–445. doi: 10.1097/MED.0b013e328331c7eb

² Moayeri, Ardeshir et al. “Fracture risk in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and possible risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Therapeutics and clinical risk management vol. 13 455-468. 11 Apr. 2017, doi:10.2147/TCRM.S131945 

³ HPB Health Hub- Daily Calcium Intake - For Greater Bone Strength Website: https://www.healthhub.sg/live-healthy/518/Calcium%20-%20For%20Greater%20Bone%20Strength

⁴ HPB Health Hub- Recommended Dietary Allowances. Website:https://www.healthhub.sg/live-healthy/192/recommended_dietary_allowances

⁵ Vitamin D: Recommended Dietary Allowances, Food Sources, and Side Effects https://www.healthxchange.sg/food-nutrition/supplements/vitamin-d-recommended-dietary-allowances-food-sources-side-effects

⁶ NIH Vitamin D- Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. Website:https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/ 

⁷ NIH Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases National Resource Center - What People With Diabetes Need To Know About Osteoporosis Website: https://www.bones.nih.gov/health-info/bone/osteoporosis/conditions-behaviors/diabetes