Micronutrients for Bone Health: Types, Functions, Benefits, and More

Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals that the body needs for everyday functioning and health (1).

They’re small but mighty, playing a key role in your body’s immunity, growth, brain function, and more (2, 3, 4, 5). Some micronutrients can even help fight or prevent diseases (6, 7).

And of course, micronutrients—especially calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin K—play a major role in growing and strengthening your bones (8).

The body can’t create most vitamins and minerals on its own, so we need to get most of our micronutrients from food and supplements. The micronutrients our body can’t create are called essential nutrients.

If anyone has ever told you they’re “counting their macros,” they’re talking about macronutrients. Macronutrients are the nutrients your body needs in the largest amounts: Things like carbs, fats, and protein. Some common macronutrients include phosphorus, sodium, magnesium, and sulfur.

One of the most important macronutrients for bone health and healthy aging is collagen. As the most abundant protein in your body, collagen is central to your skin health, joint health, energy levels, bone strength, and more (9).

For an optimal approach to bone health, you can combine the macronutrient of collagen with micronutrients like vitamin D, vitamin K, and calcium.

Here are some of the most well-known micronutrients, and some of the functions they’re most known for…

• Calcium: Bone, muscle, and blood vessel functions (10)
• Vitamin A: Vision and organ health (11)
• Vitamin D: Immunity, bone health, and calcium absorption (12, 13)
• Vitamin E: Immunity, disease prevention (14)
• Vitamin K: Bone development, proper blood clotting (15)
• Vitamin B: Converting nutrients into energy (16, 17)
• Vitamin C: Skin health, immunity, creation of collagen (18)
• Zinc: Wound healing, growth, immunity (19)
• Iron: Muscle health, hormone creation (20)
• Manganese: Bone health, hormone creation (21)
• Copper: Creation of red blood cells, immunity (22)

Each micronutrient is unique, with its own set of health benefits ranging from bone function to hormone creation to disease prevention. This is why it’s important to get enough of every single micronutrient—your body depends on all of them!

In addition to helping your body function at its best, many micronutrients act as antioxidants. This means that they can protect your body against certain types of cell damage and may prevent health issues like cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s (23, 24, 25).

For those of us in or approaching menopause, one of the most powerful perks of micronutrients is the boost they can give to bone health. After all, as we age, bone strength decreases, and bones start to break down faster than they can regenerate (26).

Making the Most of Calcium

People usually assume calcium is the go-to micronutrient for bone health, but that’s actually not the case. At least, not on its own! For calcium to truly protect your bones, it needs help—and that help comes in the form of vitamin D and vitamin K. These two vitamins are what shuttle calcium to your bones so that it can do its job (27).

So to truly boost your bone health through micronutrients, you’ll need to be sure you’re getting enough calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin K. You need the full trifecta for the biggest boost!

Vitamin K activates a protein in your body (called osteocalcin) that binds calcium to your bones and teeth, and studies have linked vitamin K to reductions in fractures and increases in bone density (28, 29, 30, 31). And vitamin D is what helps your body absorb calcium. Without it, calcium can’t do too much (32, 33).

How Micronutrients Can Boost Collagen Production

Calcium is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to bone health. Micronutrients also have another bone health benefit: They can help improve your collagen levels.

Collagen itself is a macronutrient, but there are several micronutrients that can help your body utilize collagen better. Collagen makes up a whopping 90% of your bones, but your body’s natural collagen production declines with age (34, 35). Taking collagen daily can help prevent further bone loss and increase bone density, and micronutrients can help your body make the most of each dose (36, 37).