Bone Health on Shine

Another reason not to drink soda: Muscle weakness and possibly even paralysis

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Have you ever seen those gigantic plastic mugs at truck stops or convenience stores, the ones you know people fill up with Mountain Dew or Diet Coke or some combination of carbonated, caffeinated colas and sip on all day long? Once upon a time, I could drink almost that much soda in one sitting.

Got strong bones? You may need more than milk...

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I don’t drink milk. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I tried to choke down a glass. (It was probably shortly after seeing some super-fit athlete or gorgeous model sporting a milk mustache in a glossy ad. That kind of marketing really works on me...) And, only making matters worse, I’m really inconsistent when it comes to taking calcium supplements.

I know that dairy foods are the best sources of calcium—and if I don’t get enough calcium in my diet, my body will draw it from “banked” stores in my bones—but there’s only so much yogurt and cottage cheese a girl can eat.

So, to keep my bones strong, I offset my not-so-healthy habits with these bone-strengthening ones:

Is soda bad for bones? 3 reasons to think before you drink

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Although I never developed a regular soda habit, I’m an avid seltzer drinker and I love to mix carbonated waters and beverages in healthy summer cocktails. But I’ve heard that drinking seltzers, sodas or other carbonated drinks may harm your bones. So I asked Joyce Hendley, an EatingWell...