Bone up on this whole-body health meal to keep your skeleton strong.
When you think about building strong bones, what meal comes to mind first? Of course, there's milk. Mom probably poured you a glass of wine at every dinner when you were a kid to help you grow. If you're one of the 36 percent of Americans who has lactose malabsorption and has diarrhea, gas, or bloating after drinking dairy, you might think milk isn't doing your body any favours as you get older. While there are straightforward ways to avoid these adverse effects, such as lactose-free dairy products, let's spill the milk and seek a lesser-known source of calcium that will provide you with even more calcium than cow's milk: sardines.
According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, a 3-ounce serving of sardines contains roughly 325 milligrams (mg) of calcium, compared to 276 mg and 299 mg for whole milk non-fat milk, respectively. This is around a third of the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) of 1,000 mg for most adults. For women over 50 and males over 70, the RDI is 1,200 mg.
Breaking Down Bones
Calcium is an essential nutrient for your body. According to The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, calcium is necessary for muscle function, blood clotting, hormone secretion, blood vessel contraction, and dilatation. It also makes up a large part of the construction of your bones.
Your bones aren't fixed in stone; they're continually breaking down and rebuilding, and you're not even aware of it.
If you don't continuously give your body calcium through food and exercising your bones, your body will manufacture less bone, lose bone, and weaken as you get older. Osteoporosis is a bone condition that causes a decrease in bone density, which can lead to fractures.
Strengthening Bones
Sardines are suitable for your bones because you consume the whole fish, including the soft bones, high in calcium. Because of the high fish consumption in Japan and other Asian countries, some researchers have found that Japan has a lower incidence of osteoporosis than the United States, even though the Japanese consume significantly less dairy than Americans.
Other nutrients included in fish, such as vitamin D and protein, aid in bone formation. Vitamin D is required for calcium absorption and bone mineralization, which results in denser, more durable bones. According to a 2010 study published in the journal Nutrients, oily fish like sardines are among the most acceptable dietary sources of vitamin D3, the most beneficial of the two kinds of vitamin D for bone health. According to the USDA, a can of sardines delivers slightly more than 40% of your daily vitamin D requirements.
Protein, a Plus
Sardines, like bone-building milk, provide a good source of muscle-building protein, with 25 grams per 3-ounce meal. According to the Harvard Health Blog, that's about half of the protein a 50-year-old inactive woman weighing 140 pounds requires in a day.
Protein is essential in preventing osteoporosis in clinical tests. Proteins make up roughly a third of your bone mass, after all.
One large study based on Women's Health Initiative clinical trials and observational studies followed over 144,000 postmenopausal women nearly six years. Higher protein consumption was connected to considerably higher bone density in the hip, spine, and whole body, as well as a lower risk of forearm fractures in women, according to the findings published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Other Advantages
Sardines are also a rich source of calcium for other reasons. For starters, you'll be getting extra heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids from oily fish like sardines, in addition to calcium, vitamin D, and protein.
Another benefit, according to a study published in Clinical Nutrition in 2021, is diabetes prevention. Researchers discovered that just two meals of sardines per week for a year supplied enough calcium, vitamin D, and omega-3s to dramatically lower the incidence of type 2 diabetes in elderly persons with prediabetes. At the start of the trial, 37 percent of those who ate sardines had a high risk of developing diabetes. Only 8% of those who were at very high risk remained at the end of the experiment.