HERE are some osteoporosis facts and prevention tips from the Center for Bone Health at Montefiore Medical Center in the United States.

Your body stores almost all of its calcium in the bones, which act as a calcium bank. You deposit calcium daily and your body withdraws what it needs each day. The amount of daily calcium you need varies according to your age.

Despite what you may believe, cottage cheese is a poor source of calcium. A 1-cup serving of cottage cheese has only 138 milligrams of calcium. A cup of non-fat yogurt has 450 milligrams of calcium. Hard cheeses have varying calcium content. Twenty-eight grams (an ounce) of processed American cheese have 130 milligrams of calcium. Parmesan has 335 milligrams of calcium per ounce; and Swiss cheese 270 milligrams per ounce.

Low-fat dairy products often have more calcium than whole-milk products. Non-fat yogurt has 450 milligrams per cup, while whole-milk yogurt has 274 milligrams per cup. There are 337 milligrams of calcium in a half-cup serving of ricotta, compared to 257 milligrams in whole ricotta.

The reason is that non-fat dairy products often are fortified with dry milk solids. Read labels to get information about how much calcium is contained in foods.

Some foods and beverages interfere with calcium absorption. These include heavily salted foods such as bacon, salami, smoked salmon, prepared soups, salty snacks and other processed food. You should consume less than 4,000 milligrams of sodium a day.

Cola has phosphoric acid, which blocks calcium absorption, and caffeine, which actually depletes calcium. Excess alcohol consumption damages bones.

 
Editor: Wings