[Nutrition and bone health: What ist the evidence?]

Nutrients are of particular importance for bone health: they act as structural elements of bones, modulate the activity of osteoblasts and osteoclasts, and influence bone remodeling through various mediators. A bone protective diet can be characterised as a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, dairy products, seeds and nuts, whole grain and soy products and moderate amounts of fish, eggs and lean meat. This diet provides sufficient amounts of protein, calcium, magnesium and vitamins (e. g. K, C, folic acid, B6 and B12), which are important for bone development. For specific nutrients, the following bone-protective recommendations can be given: 1.0-1.3 g protein/kg body weight and day; 1000-1200 mg/day calcium, preferably as part of the normal diet. In case of insufficient calcium intake or on antiresorptive medication a supplementation of 200-500 mg or 500-1000 mg calcium/day, respectively, should be given. Furthermore, for prevention of bone fractures a cut off level of ≥ 75 nmol calcidiol/l is suggested.