Milk minerals (including trace elements) and bone health

Osteoporosis is a global health problem that will take on increasing significance as people live longer and the world's population continues to increase in number. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop and implement nutritional approaches and policies for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. However, to develop preventative strategies, it is important to determine which modifiable factors, especially nutritional factors, are able to improve bone health throughout life. The present review will firstly, and very briefly, define the principal disease of bone mass (i.e., osteoporosis) and its risk factors, and will then focus on the importance of 'milk minerals' in bone health. While there are 20 essential minerals, and all of these are present in milk at some concentration, for the purposes of this review only a selected number of minerals (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium and zinc) will be discussed in relation to bone health. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.