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Bone Health
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Maintaining Healthy Bones as We Age
Posted on January 17, 2012 by lizhoobchaak, Athletico Blog
Our bones continually change throughout our life. Bone is a living, growing tissue, so new bone will be produced to replace the bone that is lost. We can maintain a healthy bone mass when our body can produce the same amount of bone that was removed. When our body fails to keep up with the bone that is being lost, we will have an overall lower bone mass. A lower bone mass may easily lead to fractures, difficulty walking, and an overall lower quality of life.
Ensuring that our bones stay strong should start at an early age, but it is never too late to begin taking care of our bones. We usually will reach our peak bone density between the ages of 18 and 25. After age 25, it is very important to follow some healthy guidelines to help keep our skeleton strong. Here are some tips to help maintain a healthy bone mass:
Exercise
In childhood, exercise is essential to help form strong bones, but it is also equally important later in life to help maintain it. New bone will grow best when there is slight stressed placed on it. Weight-bearing exercises such as walking or any exercise where you are supporting yourself against gravity are the best for improving bone strength. Exercise will also help to improve posture and balance to decrease fall risk later in life. Tai chi is an excellent type of exercise that incorporates both weight-bearing and balance exercises that is very suitable for the older adult.
Diet
A well balanced diet high in calcium and vitamin D is very important. Calcium is a mineral that helps to build strong bones. In childhood, calcium will help build up the density in our bones to help us reach our peak bone density. In later adulthood, it is important to maintain proper calcium intake because if the body is not getting the calcium it needs, it will begin to take it from our bones, leaving us at risk for osteoporosis.
Vitamin D is an essential vitamin that helps our body absorb calcium, which is needed to keep bones strong. Our natural source of vitamin D is the sun. Vitamin D is naturally occurring in some types of fatty fish and eggs. There are a few foods, such as milks or cereals, that may be fortified in vitamin D, but these may not be enough. Ask your doctor about healthy levels of vitamin D and if you would benefit from a supplement or multivitamin.
Lifestyle
Excessive alcohol intake may impair the body’s ability to absorb calcium. Tobacco products are not healthy for the body, but especially the bones. They tend to cause the bones to become more brittle, which may lead to falls and possible bone fractures.
Hormones
Following menopause, women lose bone mass very quickly due to the decline in the hormone estrogen. Estrogen regulates the menstrual cycle as well as helps to promote healthy bones. It is very important to speak to your doctor if you are a woman who does not get a regular menstrual cycle or who is going through menopause to make sure that your hormones are at a healthy level.
Don’t think it is too late to start implementing some healthy actions into your life to help maintain bone health. Some small changes now may go a long way to ensure that you stay strong and lead an active life well into your later years.
Strong bones, healthy bone
Source: MedicinesTalk No.39 January 2012 > Strong bones, health*
MedicinesTalk is a free quarterly newsletter for consumers written by consumers about using medicines wisely.
Osteoporosis is a condition where your bones become fragile and brittle, causing them to break more easily. It most commonly affects people in older age, but it can affect some people much earlier. It affects men as well as women.
Maintaining healthy bones
Calcium is crucial for healthy bones, but more than half of all Australian adults don’t get enough calcium in their diet. It is important to try to eat three serves of dairy or other calcium-rich foods every day. Non-dairy sources of calcium include almonds, baked beans, tahini, tinned salmon and tofu.
Vitamin D is also essential for healthy bones, because your body can’t absorb calcium without it. The body makes vitamin D when your skin is exposed to sunlight. Most people get enough vitamin D if they spend a short time each day in the sun with their sleeves rolled up. However, to avoid damage from the sun, it’s best to avoid being outside between 11 am and 3 pm in summer, and 10 am and 2 pm in winter. You can also supplement your vitamin D by eating liver, eggs and fatty fish, such as salmon, mackerel or herring.
Being active is essential for building and maintaining bone strength. Physical activity also improves your body strength, balance and stability, all of which help to prevent you tripping or falling over — common causes of broken bones in people with osteoporosis. Ask your doctor or physiotherapist about exercises to build up your strength, balance and bones.
Take action now
Prevention is better than cure at any age, but even more so if you’re a woman who has gone through or is going through menopause, or if you’re over 65 (male or female).
Your GP can work out your risk of breaking a bone in the next 5–10 years. Ask them to calculate your risk, and advise you about any lifestyle changes you need to make to reduce your risk.
Tips to prevent osteoporosis
– Eat three serves of dairy or other calcium-rich foods every day.
– Be active and do some physical activity like walking every day.
– Spend a short time in the sun each day with some skin uncovered to maintain your vitamin D levels.
– If you smoke, seek help to quit.
– If you’re a woman who has been through menopause or is going through it, ask your doctor about your risk of osteoporosis.
Tell your GP if others in your family have had osteoporosis.
Visit www.nps.org.au/osteoporosis for more information about osteoporosis.
Bone health is critically important to the overall health and quality of life of Americans.
Healthy bones provide the body with a frame that allows for mobility and for protection against injury. Bones serve as a storehouse for minerals that are vital to the functioning of many other life-sustaining systems in the body. Unhealthy bones, however, perform poorly in executing these functions and can lead to debilitating fractures.
The bone health status of Americans appears to be in jeopardy, and left unchecked it is only going to get worse as the population ages. Each year an estimated 1.5 million individuals suffer an osteoporotic-related fracture.
Great improvements in the bone health status of Americans can be made “simply” by applying in a timely manner that which is already known about prevention, assessment, detection, diagnosis, and treatment.
There is a large gap between what has been learned and what is applied by American consumers and health care providers. The biggest problem is a lack of awareness of bone disease among both the public and health care professionals.
An area of particular concern relates to serving ethnic and racial minorities and other underserved populations, including the uninsured, underinsured, and those living in rural areas. Closing this gap will not be possible without specific strategies and programs geared toward bringing improvements in bone health to all currently underserved populations.
Source: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/bonehealth/chapter_1.html