Five things you can follow to prevent this and age gracefully with good bone health.
Since childhood, we have all been told to drink milk twice daily for solid bones. As living tissues, our bones are continually being remodelled, torn down and rebuilt. However, this process happens when we are young. About 90% of our bone mass is accrued by age 19 and the remainder by 30 years. This will also determine how much bone strength you will have later in life. It is also true that our bodies lose bone mass faster than it is built, especially as we age.
This means our bone strength is the best in our 30s, and therefore, maintaining our health is essential to age gracefully and prevent or reduce joint pain later in life. In women, the risk of osteoporosis rises once they reach menopause as oestrogen production decreases. For men, the later years of their life leave them at risk of developing this condition, with the bones becoming fragile and brittle. Puneet Sood, Country Manager, Blackmores shares some things you can follow to prevent this and age gracefully with good bone health.
Bone-Building Diet
A balanced diet is essential to get all the much-needed vitamins and minerals, including calcium. Calcium can be obtained from dairy products, almonds, broccoli, and salmon. Stay clear of foods rich in salt and sugar or highly processed. Calcium is vital in maintaining healthy bone mineralization and density, supporting bone health as we age. Vitamin D3 aids calcium absorption. It also supports healthy immune system function and bone development and maintains muscle strength and health. Those who do not get adequate calcium from their diet can consume about 500 mg of elemental calcium as supplementation in one tablet. This level is also easy to absorb at one time.
Avoid Habits That Are Destructive To The Bones
Among other habits, two major lifestyle issues that can hamper bone health are the consumption of alcohol and smoking. Alcohol interferes with calcium balance and affects the production of hormones like oestrogen. Oestrogen not only protects the bones but also aids growth. Alcohol also interferes with the production of some vitamins that help in calcium absorption. In addition, since bones are living tissues, they need a constant supply of blood, which smoking tends to interfere with.
Regular Physical Activity
Exercise is excellent for bone health. Physical activity, such as brisk walking, swimming, etc., can immensely help the bones. Specifically, there are three kinds of exercises for the bones:
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- Strength training which involves lifting dumbbells, squats, etc.
- Weight-bearing activities encourage the bones to become denser.
- Finally, flexibility exercises increase our joints’ range of motion and help them move freely.
Maintaining A Healthy Weight
Excess weight can increase the risk of fractures as we age. However, even being very thin can lead to loss of bone density. So avoid swinging between diets and losing or gaining weight. Instead, understand your ideal BMI and try to maintain a healthy weight. This can work wonders for the bones.
Supplementation
Many people do not get enough vitamins and other nutrients from their diet for various reasons. This is where the regular intake of supplements such as fish oil and omega-3 can prove beneficial due to their anti-inflammatory properties, which are significant when joint pain and inflammation develop as you age. Joint health is essential to keep us moving. But unfortunately, the body’s ability to produce glucosamine to build joint cartilage decreases with age. Glucosamine is often made from shellfish shells, but vegetarian glucosamine derived from corn is available from some supplement companies.
In Conclusion
Our lifestyle and what we eat can go a long way in maintaining our bone health and overall well-being. By eating healthy, undertaking regular physical activity, and supplementing our diet with good-quality supplements, we can ensure that our old age is as graceful as we have always wanted.
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