Healthy bones are super crucial for feeling good and staying active. Whether young or old, taking care of your bones is smart to avoid problems like fractures or osteoporosis. This article will review eight easy ways to keep your bones strong and healthy. We'll talk about eating right, staying active, and doing things that help you relax. By doing these things regularly, you can make sure your bones stay strong and keep you moving for a long time.
Strong and healthy bones are the foundation for an active and vibrant life.
Eat a Well-Rounded Diet
Bones are important to the health of the body, and it's one of the few areas where diet can make a difference. Strong bones protect organs, store minerals, and help us move. Eating a well-rounded diet that provides plenty of calcium, protein, and vitamin D is essential to keep our bones strong and healthy.
Milk, yogurt, and cheese may come to mind when we think of calcium, but there are many other mineral sources. In addition to dairy, green vegetables like broccoli and kale are rich in calcium, as are legumes, whole grains, nuts, and fruits.
While calcium gets the most attention, a healthy diet contains various nutrients that help build and support strong bones, including protein, magnesium, and phosphorous. Try to include a wide variety of these foods each day.
Get Regular Exercise
Bones do more than support your body; they store minerals like calcium and vitamin D (VAHY-tuh-min DEE) and help protect your heart, lungs, and brain from injury. Unfortunately, many adults and kids don't get enough calcium or vitamin D or do enough weight-bearing exercise to help build strong bones.
Achieving a high maximum peak bone density in childhood and young adulthood is critical to maintaining healthy bones into older age. You can do this by getting plenty of calcium-rich foods, avoiding things that cause bone breakdown, and exercising regularly with both weight-bearing and muscle-strengthening activities.
Weight-bearing exercises include walking, dancing, jogging, and playing tennis. Non-weight-bearing exercises are swimming and cycling. Weight-bearing exercises are also good for strengthening muscles and improving balance training. It's best to start with a warm-up, then add some short bursts of activity before stretching again.
Get Enough Calcium
Calcium is one of the most critical minerals in your body. It is found in bones and teeth and the blood, muscle, and the fluid surrounding cells. The body uses calcium to help muscles and nerves work properly. It also helps maintain heart rhythm and regulates blood pressure, hormone levels, and the passage of messages between cells.
Your diet is the main source of calcium, which is why it's so important to get enough of this nutrient every day. It's a good idea to spread the amount of calcium you consume throughout the day since this will optimize absorption.
You can get calcium from milk, other dairy foods, leafy greens, beans, fish, nuts, and whole grains. However, avoiding drinks that decrease calcium absorption, such as sodas, is a good idea. Instead, drink plenty of water and calcium-fortified juices and milk.
Get Enough Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps your body absorb calcium, the main building block of bones. It also plays other vital roles, such as regulating inflammation and supporting muscle and nerve functions.
If you don't get enough Vitamin D, your bones may become thin and weak and be more likely to break. Vitamin D deficiency can cause rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults.
Your body can get Vitamin D from a few foods, but the best source is sunshine. Your body turns sunlight into Vitamin D, called 25-hydroxyvitamin D, or calciferol. A blood test can measure your levels of Vitamin D, which doctors use to determine if you're getting enough.
Healthy adults generally need 200 to 800 IU of Vitamin D per day. Good sources of Vitamin D include salmon, eggs, and fortified dairy products such as milk and yogurt. Dark leafy greens such as kale, Swiss chard, and bok choy are also good sources of Vitamin D. A 3-ounce serving of wild-caught salmon provides more than 100% of your daily value of Vitamin D.
Don't Smoke
Besides the obvious risks of lung disease and heart disease that are associated with smoking, tobacco smoke also harms the bones and soft tissues in your body. Smoking slows the production of bone-forming cells and decreases oxygen flow to these areas, resulting in weakened, porous bones that are more susceptible to fractures. It can also slow down the healing process after an injury.
The good news is that you can replace the oral pleasure of smoking with a healthier alternative, like a piece of fruit or a glass of water. It's essential to find other ways to deal with stress and anxiety, too, to avoid turning to food or cigarettes for immediate gratification.
Practicing Good Posture
Maintaining a proper posture is vital for keeping your bones healthy and strong. When you don't sit or stand correctly, it can lead to discomfort and even hurt your bones in the long run. Your body works best when your spine is straight, your shoulders are relaxed, and your chin is level with the floor.
You can improve your posture by knowing how you hold your body throughout the day. Try to sit up straight and avoid slouching. It's also helpful to strengthen your core muscles to support your spine.
Making small changes to your daily habits can also make a big difference. For example, using a chair that supports your back or adjusting your computer monitor can help you maintain good posture while you work.
Stretching and doing exercises that target the muscles that support your posture can also help. Activities like yoga or Pilates are great for improving flexibility and strengthening your muscles.
Paying attention to your posture and making simple adjustments can keep your bones healthy and avoid problems down the road.
Don't Drink Too Much Alcohol
Drinking too much alcohol can cause your bones to become weaker, making them more likely to break. It can also interfere with the normal function of many hormones, including parathyroid hormone (PTH), which helps to keep calcium in the body and activates vitamin D, which helps bones absorb calcium.
Heavy drinking can also affect how well your body uses calcium and other essential nutrients, such as magnesium and silicon. It can even make your bones more prone to fractures, especially in older adults.
Moderate alcohol intake, which is defined as one alcoholic beverage per day for women and two for men, doesn't seem to affect bone health. However, if you are a heavy drinker, it's vital to cut back or stop altogether for the best results.
It's always okay to start caring for your bones, but the earlier you follow these tips, the stronger your bones will peak. Remember, your bones reach their strongest peak between ages 25 and 30. That's why taking care of them in those early years is so important.
Get Enough Sleep
Ensuring you get plenty of rest and allow your body time to recover is essential for keeping your bones strong and healthy. When you sleep, your body repairs and replaces tissues, including your bones. This helps keep them in good shape and reduces the risk of problems.
It's not just about how much you sleep but also about the quality of your sleep. Getting deep, uninterrupted sleep is critical for bone health. You can improve your sleep by making your bedroom dark, quiet, and comfy.
Giving your body time to rest after exercise is also crucial. Working out helps strengthen your bones, but they need time to recover afterward. Pushing yourself too hard without enough rest can lead to injuries like stress fractures.
Taking time to relax and unwind can also help your body recover. Meditation or deep breathing exercises can reduce stress and promote overall healing.
By prioritizing rest and recovery, you can keep your bones strong and healthy for years to come.
The Bottom Line
Our bones support us and protect our heart, lungs, and brain from injury. They are also storehouses for the minerals we need to live. Bones build up their "account" of these vital minerals during childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood to achieve maximum peak bone mass, but they can lose density and strength as we age, making us more likely to break bones in a fall. Many things can influence bone health, including diet, medications, and physical activity.
A well-rounded, nutritious diet that provides calcium, vitamin D, and protein is the best way to strengthen your bones. You can get these nutrients in various foods, especially dairy products, dark leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds, tofu, canned fish with soft bones (like sardines), yogurt, and fortified orange juice.
Regular weight-bearing exercise is also essential for building and maintaining bone strength. A doctor or a physical therapist can help you find an exercise that is safe for your age, bone health, and fitness level. Examples of weight-bearing exercises include brisk walking, tennis, tai chi, and activities that use your body weight for resistance, like climbing stairs.
It's also important to maintain appropriate body weight, as being underweight increases the rate of bone loss and may increase the risk of fractures. If you have difficulty losing weight, talk to your doctor or a dietitian about managing your weight. You can also ask about programs to help you quit smoking and limit your alcohol intake.
