Proper nutrition helps older adults maintain strong bones and healthy joints.

Elderly people should choose appropriate foods to ensure they get enough calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D in their daily meals, such as fish, seafood, and broccoli.

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For over two months now, Ms. Tran Thi Thu (32 years old, Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City) has regularly cooked bone broth twice a week for her mother because she heard from others that this dish is good for people who often experience bone and joint pain. Ms. Thu said: “My mother is 58 years old this year and often complains of aches and pains in her knees and lower back, making it difficult for her to walk and causing her to toss and turn all night. I think it's because she's old and lacks calcium, so every week I try to cook bone broth for her because I heard that this dish is very rich in calcium and easy to eat.”

Joint pain is a common condition among older adults.

Ms. Thu's belief that supplementing with calcium will strengthen her bones is similar to many others. However, in reality, the amount of calcium in bones that can be absorbed into soup is very low. It is estimated that a bowl of bone broth contains only about 2-3 milligrams of calcium, while the average adult needs 1,000 milligrams of calcium per day. Furthermore, calcium alone is not enough to ensure strong bones; it needs to be combined with other nutrients, especially vitamin D and phosphorus.

Acting as a carrier of calcium into the body, vitamin D helps regulate and enhance calcium absorption to accelerate bone protein formation and calcium binding. Additionally, an adult body contains 700-800 grams of phosphorus, with up to 85% found in bones. Therefore, phosphorus also participates in bone formation. The balanced ratio of calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D forms a triangle that helps older adults build strong bones.

In addition to main meals, older adults should take supplements containing calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D to support bone and joint health.

Proper nutrition is the best way to supplement calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D. Therefore, the elderly need to choose suitable foods to ensure they get enough of these nutrients in their daily meals. Calcium can be found in small fish eaten whole (bones); seafood such as shrimp, crab, and lobster; soybeans; broccoli, kale, lettuce, and cabbage… In particular, broccoli not only contains calcium but is also rich in phosphorus, vitamin K, and zinc, which can help increase bone density and mineral content. Phosphorus is found in yogurt, eggs, beans, pumpkin seeds, and salmon. Vitamin D is found in cod liver oil, fish eggs, mushrooms, and is naturally absorbed by the body through sun exposure. Sunbathing for about 10-15 minutes each day is also an effective way to supplement vitamin D.

However, it is difficult for older adults to get enough calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D through their daily meals due to poor absorption and the loss of some of these nutrients during processing. A simpler way to ensure adequate intake of these nutrients is to supplement their daily diet with specialized nutritional products.

According to VnExpress