healthy bones Other countries, including China and Japan, suffer much lower fracture rates than the United States and milk-loving Scandinavia, despite the fact that their people drink little or no milk So it seems prudent to investigate the many other factors that influence bone strength, especially those that slow the deconstruction process (see box, p 15) The best answer is likely to be not a single large white bullet, but the familiar balanced diet and regular exercise The Many Influences on Bone Health Good bone health results from a proper balance between the two ongoing processes of bone deconstruction and reconstruction These processes depend not only on calcium levels in the body, but also on physical activity that stimulates bonebuilding; hormones and other controlling signals; trace nutrients (including vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, and zinc); and other as yet unidentified substances There appear to be factors in tea and in onions and parsley that slow bone deconstruction significantly Vitamin D is essential for the efficient absorption of calcium from our foods, and also influences bone building It’s added to milk, and other sources include eggs, fish and shellfish, and our own skin, where ultraviolet light from the sun activates a precursor molecule The amount of calcium we have available for bone building is importantly affected by how much we excrete in our urine The more we lose, the more we have to take in from our foods Various aspects of modern eating increase calcium excretion and so boost our calcium requirement A high intake of salt is one, and another is a high intake of animal protein, the metabolism of whose sulfurcontaining amino acids acidifies our urine, and pulls neutralizing calcium salts from ...other as yet unidentified substances There appear to be factors in tea and in onions and parsley that slow bone deconstruction significantly Vitamin D is essential for the efficient absorption... of modern eating increase calcium excretion and so boost our calcium requirement A high intake of salt is one, and another is a high intake of animal protein, the metabolism of whose sulfurcontaining amino acids acidifies our urine,... absorption of calcium from our foods, and also influences bone building It’s added to milk, and other sources include eggs, fish and shellfish, and our own skin, where ultraviolet light from the sun activates a precursor molecule