Importance of Vitamin D

While there's a possibility you may be taking in too much calcium, chances are you're not taking in enough vitamin D, Watts says. "Vitamin D is underutilized," he says, observing that the vitamin is not found naturally in most of the foods we eat, and the amount added to milk or multivitamins is not enough to maximize calcium absorption. Most of the vitamin D we get is produced by the body via exposure to sunlight.

"More D is better," says Watts, who believes that the recommended daily allowance is too low and advises patients to have their blood levels analyzed, and if needed, take additional vitamin D-3 as a supplement. Vitamin D-3, also called cholecalciferol, is the form of vitamin D that best supports bone health. (According to the Institute of Medicine, the tolerable upper intake for people 14 years and older is 2,000 IU, but many experts have challenged that limit.)

As a bone-building ingredient, don't overlook protein in your diet either, Watts advises. While very high levels of protein may cause "calcium-wasting," Watts says that researchers have found that hip fracture patients who were given a mild protein supplement were released from the hospital sooner than those who weren't.

"It's like a symphony orchestra," says Robert P. Heaney, MD, John A. Creighton University Professor and professor of medicine at Creighton University. "If you don't take in enough protein [Heaney recommends 62 grams a day], then calcium alone, or even with vitamin D, won't do the trick," he says. "It's the sum of the parts that's important, not the individual elements alone."