Healthy Bones: The Key To A Strong And Active Life

  • Last Updated On: May 13, 2024
  • 4 minute read

Bones play multiple roles in the human body, offering structural support, protecting your organs, anchoring your muscles, and preserving calcium. Although the imperative to develop robust and healthy bones is crucial during childhood and adolescence, safeguarding bone health remains a priority in adulthood as well.

What you need to know:

What is meant by healthy bones?

Healthy bones are characterized by their density and their strength. And despite their robustness, bones are remarkably flexible. They also possess the ability to self-heal when fractured, undergoing a continuous process of renewal throughout life. Bone growth occurs during childhood and adolescence and peaks till the age of 25, while a lifelong process of bone remodelling or renewal ensures their maintenance.

Critical elements of bones encompass collagen, calcium and bone marrow. The condition of your bones is influenced by your dietary and lifestyle choices. That is why it is pertinent for you to maintain the overall health of your bones and ensure your skeletal well-being.

Why are healthy bones important?

It is important to remember that your bones are continuously changing. A new bone is made every time an old one breaks down. When you are younger, your body is able to make a new bone faster, exceeding the pace of bone breakdown, leading to an increased bone mass. Usually, after the age of 30, even as bone remodelling still takes place, you are likely to lose more bone than you are to gain. In addition to this bone loss, you are less likely to be able to perform any high-impact and bone-stimulating exercises after a certain age.

The likelihood of developing osteoporosis, a condition characterized by weakened and brittle bones, is contingent on the amount of bone mass acquired by age 30 and the subsequent rate of bone loss. A higher peak bone mass serves as a protective factor, acting like a reserve in the “bone bank,” reducing the risk of osteoporosis with advancing age.

Tips for maintaining healthy bones

There are several ways that you can maintain good bone health as you age. For example, studies show that people who jump 10 times twice daily increased bone density by 0.5% compared to those who didn’t.

With that in mind, here are a few other ways to boost your bone health –

Walk and then walk some more

Engage in a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise such as brisk walking, jogging or running. Making this a daily habit drastically lowers your chances of osteoporosis and fractures in the long haul. So be sure to go for a walk every day, either in the morning or evening. For the best results, if working out daily is your thing, alternate high-intensity workouts with low-intensity ones.

Make sure your hormones are balanced

With the fast-paced lives we live, it’s easy for hormonal imbalances to occur. This could cause severe problems for your bones as too much thyroid can cause bone loss and lowered estrogen can cause osteoporosis. In men, lowered testosterone can cause a loss of bone mass, too.

Perform strength training and weight-bearing exercises

One of the ways to maintain healthy bones is through weight-bearing or high-impact exercise as it promotes the formation of new bones. Strength-training exercise increases muscle mass while protecting against bone loss in women of all age groups. Research involving elderly individuals, both men and women, engaging in weight-bearing exercises demonstrated enhancements in bone mineral density, bone strength, and bone size. Additionally, there were reductions in markers of bone turnover and inflammation.

Which are the best foods for healthy bones?

There are many nutritional habits that can assist you in building strong bones. Here are some ways to build healthy bones:

Pump up the potassium

healthy-bones-potassium

Although potassium may not have any bone-building properties of its own (it helps in nerve and muscle communication), it actually helps neutralize certain acids that cause bone loss and remove calcium from the body. Bananas and avocados are great sources of potassium.

Snack on calcium and vitamin D-rich foods

Foods like yogurt, cottage cheese, and fish like salmon and sardines are high in calcium, which is also commonly known as bone food. The trick is to club this with foods that are rich in vitamin D as these help in the absorption of calcium. Dark leafy vegetables like spinach and broccoli are great options to go with your calcium-rich snacks and meals. Also, consider having magnesium-rich foods in your diet, as it transforms vitamin D into its active form, which enhances the absorption of calcium.

Reduce your caffeine consumption

healthy-bones-reduce-caffine

Although coffee might have certain health benefits, it can do considerable damage to your bones. Intake of around 400 milligrams per day or lower is unlikely to contribute to bone loss or other health issues, whereas 800 milligrams or more is regarded as the threshold associated with the risk of osteoporosis. Primarily, it can reduce the body’s ability to absorb calcium by decreasing the effectiveness of vitamin D. Studies show that caffeine leads to accelerated bone loss for those who do not consume sufficient calcium.

Avoid very low-calorie diets

It is never a good idea to drop calories. In addition to your metabolism slowing down, suffering from rebound hunger and reducing muscle mass, it also proves detrimental to bone health. Research has shown that when you consume less than 1,000 calories a day, you decrease your bone density. And it makes no exception, no matter if you are normal weight, overweight, or obese. For robust bones, aim for a balanced diet with at least 1,200 daily calories. Include lots of protein and foods packed with bone-friendly vitamins and minerals.

By following these steps and being aware of your family history – to be sure if you are more susceptible to certain illnesses than others, you can be sure you are maintaining good healthy bones for a long time to come.

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