HERE'S one reason why children should eat their broccoli fruits and vegetables build strong bones, a new study shows. Boys who ate the most fruits and vegetables showed the greatest accumulation of minerals in their bones throughout childhood and adolescence, Dr Hassanali Vatanparast of the University of Saskatchewan in the US and his colleagues found.
Higher bone mineral content translates to denser, stronger bones. Boys who exercised more and consumed more calcium also developed stronger bones over the course of the study. Vatanparast points out that while adolescence is the prime time for building bone mass, children frequently don't take enough calcium for optimum bone strength. Failing to form strong bones in youth boosts the risk of problems later on, such as osteoporosis.