Healthy bones in kids, and how Noughty supports this

Did you know that the healthy choices your children make today can make - or break - their bones later in life?

Bone is called a “living tissue” because it’s made up of its own blood vessels, cells, proteins, minerals and vitamins. All of these things are important for healthy bone growth.

At birth, we have about 300 bones. During childhood and adolescence, these bones harden and some fuse together. By the time we’re adults, our skeleton comprises 206 bones.

All of that growth requires a huge amount of nutrients. Growing bones change constantly as components of old bone are renewed and replaced by new bone. This process is crucial for the transformation and repair of bone throughout life.

Think of your child’s bones as a bank account. As they grow, their body will be making more “deposits” than “withdrawals” of bone tissue. Building up that “bone bank” account is a bit like saving for a house. The more nutrition that kids put away, the longer their bones will last when they’re fully grown.

How to keep kids’ bones healthy

Proper nutrition is vital for a child’s bone health.

First things first: calcium! Calcium is absolutely essential for healthy bones. It’s where 99% of our calcium is stored. The body uses this stored calcium if there is not enough in the diet, so it’s crucial that growing kids get plenty of calcium to promote bone strength. Kids aged between four and eight years old should get 1000mg of calcium per day.

Vitamin D is also crucial at this age. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium and phosphate, both of which are required for building strong bones. In fact, low intake of calcium and vitamin D can increase a child’s risk of rickets. Rickets is a serious bone disease that can lead to soft bones, poor growth, and sometimes muscle pain and weakness.

Vitamin C also plays a role in bone health by stimulating collagen, the protein that bone mineralisation is built upon. Studies have shown that increased vitamin C levels can help with stronger bones.

How Noughty supports kids’ bone health

Could a fizzy drink really help support healthy bones? Yes!

Noughty isn’t just a yummy drink - it’s designed with growing kids in mind. It contains a host of the vitamins and minerals required for building healthy bones.

Just one serving of Noughty provides almost a third of the recommended calcium intake for kids aged between five and nine years old, and 100% of the recommended daily dose of Vitamin C and Vitamin D.

And, unlike other soft drinks, Noughty is free from phosphoric acid. Phosphoric acid is known to have a negative effect on bone health, especially in kids.

Yes, it’s difficult to make sure your kids are getting everything they need to be healthy (especially when they won’t eat their veges!). But Noughty is the fun way top up their “bone bank account” and help them on the road to healthy, strong bones.