Sarah Leyland, helpline manager for the National Osteoporosis Society says: "It's important to tuck into bone friendly foods to provide the proper nourishment our skeleton needs. The best combination for protecting bones is an adequate calcium intake, as part of a well balanced diet, teamed with vitamin D and weight bearing exercise."

Nutritionist Dr Judith Bryans, director of the Dairy Council says: "Calcium is vital for bones and, as our bodies cannot produce it, a calcium-rich diet is very important. Milk and dairy foods are some of the best sources of calcium in our diets, while also providing a whole host of other bone friendly nutrients including protein, phosphorous and magnesium."

The Dairy Council recommends having three portions of dairy each day.

For further information visit www.milk.co.uk, or contact info@dairycouncil.org.uk.

Natural relief for period pain

A study shows dysmenorrhea, a condition that causes extremely painful menstrual periods affecting millions of women each year, can be reduced naturally by taking Pycnogenol, pine bark extract from the French maritime pine tree. The multi-centre field study, published in The Journal of Reproductive Medicine, shows women with who used Pycnogenol experienced less pain and required less pain medications during menstruation.

For more information visit www.pycnogenol.com.

Why herring is so good for you

Herring is just as good for the heart and blood vessels as other fatty fishes.

Researchers in Sweden have carried out the first specific study of the health effects of herring. Unlike many other kinds of fish, herring is very cheap and is one of the few species that are fished in an ecologically sustainable manner.

Most of the health effects of herring are due to its content of Omega 3 fatty acids, which are found in fish oil. But Helen Lindqvist has also shown that parts of the fish other than its oil are healthy, by dividing up the fish into various fractions in one of the studies. The liquid fraction – which does not contain fatty acids – reduced the amount of oxidation products in the blood. In other words, herring contains antioxidants that are lost if you substitute fish oil capsules for fish. What's more, whole herring contains many proteins and vitamins.