Your bones reach their peak growth in early adulthood and naturally begin to lose density after age 40. Women, especially, lose bone after menopause, putting them at higher risk for the bone-weakening disease osteoporosis. According to Western Baptist Hospital’s women’s health educator Reva Harper, however, there’s much you can do to offset these losses and help build healthy bones.

Harper offers these four tips:

1. Keep track of your nutrients. “The most important is calcium, which builds bone,” says Harper. “Vitamin D, a close second, promotes calcium absorption.” Fortunately, low-fat milk and many other low-fat dairy products supply plenty of both nutrients.

2. Consider supplements. Harper notes that calcium carbonate in popular antacids is less expensive than calcium citrate and calcium phosphate supplements, but it must be taken with meals to be absorbed.

3. Get regular exercise. To build or maintain bones, give them a workout with walking, cross-country skiing, or tennis. “Jumping and jogging provide the high-impact stress bones thrive on, but any weight-bearing exercise will do,” explains Harper.

4. Talk to your doctor. Harper warns that certain conditions—including hyperthyroidism, digestive disorders, and diabetes—can hasten bone loss. So can medications such as thyroid extract and certain steroids. Hormone replacement therapy and other drug therapies, however, can help preserve bones.