Dynamic Duo Protects Fragile Hips

Excerpt from FC&A's Old-Fashioned Cures and Proven Home Remedies.

It's not your Ps and Qs you have to watch, it's your As and Bs. These vitamins can make a big difference to your bones.

Vitamin A can be a challenge - get too much or too little and you'll raise your risk of hip fractures. Even worse, the form of vitamin A called retinol, which is stored in your body fat and liver, can reach toxic levels and weaken your bones. Be careful about taking Vitamin A supplements, as well as eating too many fortified foods or animal foods. Fortunately, foods like sweet potatoes, apricots, and carrots are rich in beta carotene, a nutrient your body converts into safe amounts of vitamin A.

B Vitamins help you keep strong bones, too. For example, people who develop hip fractures are usually short on vitamin B6. Doctors think vitamin K can't do its part in protecting your bones without help from vitamin B6. So eat plenty of foods rich in B6, like fortified cereals, enriched rice, tuna, and chickpeas. But that's not all.

Your bone building cells need vitamin B12 to do their jobs. People who don't get enough of this key vitamin are more likely to have osteoporosis. What's more, deficiencies in B6 and B12 may also raise your level of homocysteine. More homocysteine means more danger of osteoporosis. Get more vitamin B6 and add B12-rich foods like shellfish, clam chowder, and fortified cereals.