20 key bone building nutrients — an overview

Depending on how we count them, there are at least 20 bone building nutrients which are essential for optimal bone health — “essential” in that our bodies cannot manufacture them, so we must get them from our food and drink. Let’s take a quick look at them, one by one, so you can get a better idea of their roles in bone health and how much of each you should be getting.

Remember, none of these nutrients does its work in isolation — you need some of each and every one, so they can all work together to keep your bones standing strong all your life long. Taking a top-grade multivitamin–mineral complex and essential fatty acids will ensure that your cells have adequate levels of these nutrients ready at hand from minute to minute, day after day, to prevent bone loss leading to osteoporosis, other degenerative diseases, and accelerated aging.

Printable copy of the 20 Key Bone-Building Nutrients as researched by Dr.Brown for 35+ years

(Click on individual nutrients to learn more about these bone building nutrients and find a full chart at the bottom…)

20 Essential Bone Building Nutrients

Calcium (Ca):

• Adult RDA or AI*:
  1000 – 1200 mg
• Common therapeutic range for bone health (daily intake):
  800 – 1200 mg
• Dietary considerations concerning adequacy of average daily intake:
  Typical diet is inadequate, averaging 500 – 850 mg
• Add up your intake from diet and supplementation:__________________

Phosphorus (P):

• Adult RDA or AI*:
  1250 mg 9 – 18 years old
  700 mg adults
• Common therapeutic range for bone health (daily intake):
  800 – 1200 mg
• Dietary considerations concerning adequacy of average daily intake:
  Inadequate intake is rare except in elderly and malnourished. Excess intake common with use of processed foods and soft drinks —
  1500 mg/day in men
  1025 mg/day in women
• Add up your intake from diet and supplementation:__________________

Magnesium (Mg):

• Adult RDA or AI*:
  420 mg adult men
  320 mg adult women
• Common therapeutic range for bone health (daily intake):
  500 – 1,000 mg
• Dietary considerations concerning adequacy of average daily intake:
  Intake generally inadequate among all ages, sexes, and classes except children under the age of 5; 40% of total population and 50% of adolescents consume 66% of RDA; and 56% of all Americans have intakes below Estimated Average Requirement (EAR)
• Add up your intake from diet and supplementation:__________________

Chromuim (Cr):

• Adult RDA or AI*:
  30 – 35 mcg adult men
  20 – 25 mcg adult women
• Common therapeutic range for bone health (daily intake):
  200 – 1000 mcg
• Dietary considerations concerning adequacy of average daily intake:
  Common intake in the US is 50 mcg or lower
• Add up your intake from diet and supplementation:__________________

Silica (Silicon – Si):

• Adult RDA or AI*:
  No values set to date
• Common therapeutic range for bone health (daily intake):
  5 – 20 mg
• Dietary considerations concerning adequacy of average daily intake:
  Intake significantly higher in men (30–33 mg/day) than in women (~25 mg/day), yet generally suboptimal Silica is the first element to go in food processing
• Add up your intake from diet and supplementation:__________________

Zinc (Zn):

• Adult RDA or AI*:
  11 mg adult men
  8 mg adult women
• Common therapeutic range for bone health (daily intake):
  12 – 30 mg
• Dietary considerations concerning adequacy of average daily intake:
  Average intake is 46–63% of RDA. Marginal zinc deficiency is common, especially among children
• Add up your intake from diet and supplementation:__________________

Manganese (Mn):

• Adult RDA or AI*:
  2.3 mg (AI) adult males
  1.8 mg (AI) adult females
• Common therapeutic range for bone health (daily intake):
  2 – 10 mg
• Dietary considerations concerning adequacy of average daily intake:
  Intake generally inadequate, at 1.76 mg adolescent girls; 2.5 mg adult men and 2.05 mg adult women
• Add up your intake from diet and supplementation:__________________

Copper (Cu):

• Adult RDA or AI*:
  900 mcg (0.90) adults
• Common therapeutic range for bone health (daily intake):
  1 – 3 mg
• Dietary considerations concerning adequacy of average daily intake:
  75% of diets fail to contain RDA. Average daily intake is below the RDA
• Add up your intake from diet and supplementation:__________________

Boron (B):

• Adult RDA or AI*:
  No RDA established
• Common therapeutic range for bone health (daily intake):
  3 – 5 mg
• Dietary considerations concerning adequacy of average daily intake:
  Common daily intake is only 0.25 mg, to possible optimum of 3.0 mg
• Add up your intake from diet and supplementation:__________________

Potassium (K):

• Adult RDA or AI*:
  4700 mg adults
• Common therapeutic range for bone health (daily intake):
  4000 -6000 mg
• Dietary considerations concerning adequacy of average daily intake:
  Adult intake averages 2300 mg for women and 3100 mg for men
• Add up your intake from diet and supplementation:__________________

Key Vitamins

Vitamin D

• Adult RDA or AI*:
  600 IU 1-70 yr
  800 IU >70 yr
• Common therapeutic range for bone health (daily intake):
  800–4000 IU and up, as needed
• Dietary considerations concerning adequacy of average daily intake:
  Numerous experts say that a billion people worldwide are deficient today. Deficiency is especially common among people who are elderly, dark skinned, and those with little UV sunlight exposure. A simple, inexpensive blood test for 25(OH)D is the best way to determine vitamin D status and need
• Add up your intake from diet and supplementation:__________________

Vitamin C

• Adult RDA or AI*:
  90 mg adult men
  75 mg adult women
• Common therapeutic range for bone health (daily intake):
  Oral 500–3000 mg (and upward to bowel tolerance), as needed
• Dietary considerations concerning adequacy of average daily intake:
  Average daily intake is about 95 mg for women and 107 mg for men. Based on US survey of nearly 9000 people, intake for 31% of population is below Estimated Average Requirement (EAR)
• Add up your intake from diet and supplementation:__________________

Vitamin A

• Adult RDA or AI*:
  2997 IU adult men
  2331 IU adult women
• Common therapeutic range for bone health (daily intake):
  5000 IU or less
• Dietary considerations concerning adequacy of average daily intake:
  44% of US population has intake below EAR
• Add up your intake from diet and supplementation:__________________

Vitamin B6

• Adult RDA or AI*:
  1.3–1.7 mg adult men
  1.3–1.5 mg adult women
• Common therapeutic range for bone health (daily intake):
  25 – 50 mg
• Dietary considerations concerning adequacy of average daily intake:
  Studies indicate widespread inadequate vitamin B6 consumption among all sectors of the population; >50% of population consume 70% RDA
• Add up your intake from diet and supplementation:__________________

Folic acid/folate
(vitamin B9)

• Adult RDA or AI*:
  400 mcg (0.4 mg) adults 
• Common therapeutic range for bone health (daily intake):
  400–1000 mcg   (0.4–1 mg)
• Dietary considerations concerning adequacy of average daily intake:
  Inadequate intake common among all age groups; although improving with food fortification, 49% of participants in NHANES survey had intakes below Estimated Average Requirement (EAR)
• Add up your intake from diet and supplementation:__________________

Vitamin B12

• Adult RDA or AI*:
  2.4 mcg adults
• Common therapeutic range for bone health (daily intake):
  150–1000 mcg
• Dietary considerations concerning adequacy of average daily intake:
  Up to 40% of US population have marginal B12 status. Older people and vegans are especially at risk
• Add up your intake from diet and supplementation:__________________

Vitamins K1 and K2

• Adult RDA or AI*:
  K1: 120 mcg adult men
  90 mcg adult women
  K2: No recommended intake but among  the essential bone building nutrients
• Common therapeutic range for bone health (daily intake):
  K1: 150–1000 mcg, K2 as MK-7: 45–360 mcg
• Dietary considerations concerning adequacy of average daily intake:
  Vitamin K1 is provided by green leafy vegetables. We suggest eating several servings of these a day. MK-7 is only found in fermented foods such as hard cheeses, and the vast majority of us do not consume sufficient MK-7. Supplemental intake of 180-200 mcg per day is recommended.
• Add up your intake from diet and supplementation:__________________

Other Nutrients

Fats

• Adult RDA or AI*:
  Should comprise minimum of 7% total calories. General recommendation is not to exceed 30% of caloric intake
• Common therapeutic range for bone health (daily intake):
  20–30% of total calories is perhaps more ideal
• Dietary considerations concerning adequacy of average daily intake:
  Average American consumes ~33% of his/her calories in fat. Consumption of essential fatty acids (EFA’s), however, is frequently inadequate
• Add up your intake from diet and supplementation:__________________

Protein

• Adult RDA or AI*:
  0.8 g/kg per day adult males and females
  125-lb person = 45 g
  175-lb person = 63 g
  56 g adult males
  46 g adult females
• Common therapeutic range for bone health (daily intake):
  1.0–1.5 g/kg
• Dietary considerations concerning adequacy of average daily intake:
  Daily intake commonly exceeds 100 g, but the elderly and some women often have very deficient intake. Higher protein intake should be balanced with higher RDA level potassium intake from food sources
• Add up your intake from diet and supplementation:__________________