Which Fruit Is Good For Bones? Here’s the Complete List

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Posted by Prescription Hope - See Editorial Guidelines (Last Updated On: Thu Jul 27 2023)

The food that you eat can affect your bones. It’s helpful to learn about foods that are rich in calcium, vitamin D, vitamin K, magnesium, and other nutrients that are important for your bone health and overall health.

This knowledge will help you make healthier food choices every day – including choosing fruit that is good for bones. So, on that note, which fruit is good for bones?

We’ll start with a quick summary before we get into the comprehensive lists.

Which fruit is good for bones? Food rich in vitamin C such as oranges, orange juice, bananas, plantains, prunes, grapefruits, strawberries, papaya, pineapples, and guava. Fruit juices that contain calcium and vitamin D. Fruits rich in vitamin K such as blueberries, raspberries, plums, grapes, and figs are good for bones.

Fruit can provide many of the vitamins and minerals your body needs to build and maintain bone mass.

In addition to trace minerals, fruits contain magnesium, vitamin K, and calcium which are important for good bone health.

See also our article on the 20 fruits with a low glycemic index.

Why fruit is good for bones – fruit helps to strengthen bones

Fruit contains magnesium. This mineral helps your body absorb calcium, which is well known for protecting and repairing bones.

Your body uses magnesium as a cofactor in more than 300 biochemical reactions to function properly.

It plays a major role in digestion and the absorption of calcium.

To support adequate magnesium levels in the body, women need 320 mg each day, while men require 420 mg.

Fruits, such as oranges, which contain up to 60 milligrams of calcium and 15 mg of magnesium, and other fruits, such as approx. 10 figs contain 136 calcium and 57 magnesium are fruits good for bones.

You can find fruit like the ones below in the grocery store. These are good for bones as they contain magnesium:

• Bananas
• Blackberries
• Figs
• Grapefruit
• Guava
• Jackfruit
• Kiwi
• Passion Fruit
• Plantain
• Raisins
• Raspberries
• Strawberries
• Watermelon

According to experts, you need sufficient calcium to keep your bones healthy and vitamin D to help your body absorb calcium.

Poor bone health can cause conditions like rickets and osteoporosis and increase the risk of breaking a bone from a fall later in life.

So, what other nutritional benefits does fruit have to help protect bones?

Vitamin K in fruit helps fight osteoporosis

According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, 10 million Americans suffer from osteoporosis, while another 44 million have low bone density.

This means that half of all adults age 50 and older are at risk of breaking a bone and should be concerned about bone health.

So, we know that fruit is good for bones, but how can fruit help combat osteoporosis and other bone disorders? 

Vitamin K, which is in many types of fruit, is used by the body to generate bone-building proteins.

Vitamin K also assists with the bone-building process by regulating the osteoblasts and osteoclasts. 

These are bone-building cells that work together in teams and are responsible for building and remodeling cells inside your bones.

To equip your body with the tools it needs to create and repair cells in bones, don’t forget to add these vitamin K-rich foods to your grocery basket.

• Blackberries
• Blueberries
• Figs (both dried and fresh)
• Kiwi fruit
• Plums (fresh or in dried form)
• Pomegranates
• Raspberries
• Grapes
• Mulberries

Calcium in fruit protects, builds, and repairs bones

Calcium is a major building block for overall health and bone strength. Your body needs 1,200 milligrams of calcium to function properly every day.

When your calcium levels are not high enough, your body responds by withdrawing this important mineral from where it is stored – in your bones.

A diet rich in calcium helps your body maintain good bone health, which you can help by eating a wide variety of foods, including fruit.

It’s interesting to understand that we often think of dairy products as the main source of calcium.

Although dairy products do contain calcium, they also contain many other elements such as 

• Animal proteins
• Occasional drugs
• A large amount of fat and cholesterol in the full-fat and unskimmed varieties. 
• Animal growth factors
• Lactose sugar
• Other contaminants 

Fruits that are high in calcium are:

• Kiwifruit
• Prickly pear
• Tangerines
• Oranges
• Blackberries
• Apricots
• Guavas
• Papaya
• Mulberries
• Passion fruit
• Calcium-fortified orange juice

So, we might find that by increasing our fresh fruit intake, we can help our bone health by reducing the less healthy or nutritious traditional ways, such as by consuming dairy products.

The daily value (%DV) for calcium is 1300mg.

Now that we understand more about what is important to maintain healthy bones in terms of calcium, let’s discover more about how fruit can help strengthen bones, and why fruit is good for bones.

How fruit strengthens bones

For those wondering which fruit is good for bones, it’s important to understand how fruit works with your bone structure to keep it healthy and well-nourished.

Calcium, vitamin C, and vitamin D found in many fruits are integral to preventing osteoporosis and promoting strong, healthy bones.

Fruits are also great digestive equalizers…

Fruit works in much the same way as the calcium in antacid tablets helps relieve indigestion by neutralizing stomach acid.

A similar chemical reaction occurs in your body when the pH balance of your blood becomes more acidic.

To neutralize your blood’s pH level so your organs continue to function properly, your body extracts calcium and other minerals from your bones, which weakens your bones.

Fruit is good for bones – for a balanced pH

Adding more fruits to your diet can prevent these withdrawals. Fruits produce alkaline-like chemicals during digestion to ensure a more balanced pH level.

Fortunately, many of the same fruits and vegetables that balance your body’s acidity levels also provide magnesium, vitamin K, and calcium, making it easier for you to eat enough to improve your bone health.

How much fruit to eat to keep bones healthy

With skeletal problems such as osteoporosis affecting three million people in the UK, it’s becoming more important to look after our bone health.

As we age, we lose calcium and other minerals from our bones, and this causes our bone density to reduce, with bones becoming thinner and more brittle.

Menopause can lead to women being even more vulnerable, as the drop in estrogen during the process causes bones to weaken.

Preparing fruits in a way that you enjoy and eating a few servings a day will provide your body with the nutrients it needs to help keep your bones healthy and strong.

Eating one and a half cups of fruit and two cups of vegetables every day can help you maintain good bone health.

Here are 5 fruits diabetics should avoid.

Which fruit is good for bones? – Next steps

We hope this has answered the question for you on which fruit is good for bones. There is further help we can offer in terms of your prescriptions…

For more questions regarding your specific condition, always consult your healthcare provider.

If you’re having trouble affording any of the medications you’ve been prescribed, visit our home page to learn more about Prescription Hope’s medication access service, compare the costs of your current prescriptions, and see how we can help obtain your medications at a cheaper price. Fill out an application today and start receiving Brand-Name prescription medications at your doorstep. Call us at 1-877-296-HOPE (4673) to speak to one of our representatives, we’re always happy to see how we can help.