Caring for your bones at Christmas

It’s important to look after our bones at all times of the year, including at Christmas and through the festive season. To support you, we’ve put together our top, festive bone-friendly tips.

Eat well

Eating and drinking the right things can help support our bone health at every stage of our lives. Calcium and vitamin D are two nutrients well-known to be important for bones. But there are many other vitamins, minerals and nutrients that are vital to help your bones stay healthy and strong. While our usual diets and eating patterns may change slightly over Christmas, there are still ways we can eat well for our bones.

• Include foods from across the main food groups – fruit and vegetables, carbohydrates, dairy or alternatives, and proteins
• Eat your greens! Brussel sprouts, cabbage and dark leafy greens are good sources of calcium, so try and add these to your plate
• Include dried fruit and nuts. These are readily available at this time of year and as a result, can often be bought at a reduced cost. Nuts are a good source of protein and dried fruits are rich in calcium
• Consider taking a daily 10 microgram (also called 400 units) vitamin D supplement. This is because you can't get vitamin D from the sun in winter and it’s difficult to get enough vitamin D from food alone. Vitamin D helps your body absorb and use calcium, which gives your bones their strength and hardness

Read more about nutrition for bones.

Be mindful of alcohol

Drinking a lot of alcohol increases the risk of developing osteoporosis and the chance of breaking a bone broken bone is much higher. The government recommends drinking no more than 14 units a week, spread across three days or more.

The following drinks contain one unit of alcohol:

• A single pub measure (25ml) of whisky, gin or brandy
• Half a pint of beer or cider
• A quarter of a pint of strong beer or cider

While it can be easy to drink more alcohol than you would normally at Christmas, be mindful of your units as they all add up. This is especially important if you’re older or less steady on your feet, as a fall can result in a broken bone.

• Keep soft drinks on hand to help keep within the recommended limits
• Measure any alcohol, using a spirit measure for example, which can be bought online or from some supermarkets or cookware stores

Keep active

We know that being physically active and doing exercise helps to keep bones strong and healthy throughout life. This is because our bones are living tissues that get stronger as we use them. The best types of exercise to do for bone health is both weight-bearing and muscle strengthening. If you’re older or less steady on your feet, it’s also helpful to include balance exercises. Improving your muscle strength and balance can help to keep you safe and steady on your feet and prevent a fall. Find examples of exercises to improve balance on the ‘Staying steady’ web page. There is also a useful fact sheet called ‘Exercises to improve balance and muscle strength’.

Our normal exercise routines may change over the festive season. It may be harder to fit in exercise around social events, and we may feel less inclined to move when it’s colder and darker, and we’re feeling tired.

• Work out at home. Carving out time for ourselves is always important, but particularly at Christmas, when it can feel particularly busy or focused on social events. Taking time for a home workout can be a great way to practise some self-care while looking after your bone health. There are a range of classes available online
• Get outside if you’re able. As well as being great for bone health, a walk, jog or run, can help boost mood
• Put on some Christmas music and have a dance. On your own or with friends, dancing is fun, festive, and a great form of exercise!

Read more about exercise for bones, including examples of weight-bearing and muscle strengthening exercises you can try.

Talk about bones!

To encourage your friends or family to think about their bone health, why not play our vitamin D quiz together and test your knowledge?

Check your risk

If you haven’t already had your bones checked or had a discussion with a healthcare professional, use our free online risk checker for free, tailored advice about your risk and practical tips on how to take action on your bone health.

It's never too early – or too late – to start taking action for your bones. To find out more about how you can start taking action today, read our bone health checklist.