Gillian McKeith's Food Bible (293 page)

Phytoestrogen-rich foods, which help to strengthen bones. Good sources include soy such as tofu, chickpeas, lentils, and flax seeds, as well as fruits and vegetables generally.

Figs as a source of magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus for bones.

Oats. Soak rolled oats overnight in water and eat raw in the morning or make oatmeal and add ground flax seeds. They contain silica, important for bones.

Hazelnuts. These are good sources of calcium and magnesium as well as essential healthy omegas.

Alfalfa meal, which provides vitamin K and can be mixed into smoothies.

Papayas and pineapples as good sources of food enzymes to help digestion, and therefore improve absorption of nutrients.

Celeriac contains a good array of bone-friendly minerals and is a perfect alternative to mashed potatoes.

Silicon-rich foods to improve availability of calcium and manganese. Horsetail tea, lettuce, buckwheat, millet, oats, brown rice, strawberries, celery, apricots, carrots, and silica gel from health-food stores.

AVOID

Carbonated drinks. Many canned and bottled drinks contain phosphoric acid, which can leach important bone-building minerals from your bones.

I recommend limiting meat in your diet. Digestion of meats and meat proteins leaves acid residues in the body that need to be neutralized with alkalizing minerals. And these alkalizing minerals might be taken away from the bones, leading to a weakened bone structure.

Caffeine and alcohol, as they are considered to be antinutrients, which means they interfere with the absorption and utilization of nutrients, including calcium and magnesium, in the body. Alcohol interferes with protein and calcium metabolism and affects bone-building cells.