Building healthy bones during your younger days is extremely important as our bones become thinner and lose their density as we age. Your bones absorb nutrients during early adulthood, adolescents, childhood, and as you reach the age of 30, you have achieved the peak of your bone mass.
If there is not enough bone mass during these stages of your age or bone loss in later periods of your life, you are at a high risk of developing fragile bones that can break easily.
Luckily, there are several lifestyle habits and nutrition that can help build stronger bones and maintain bone density as you age.
Following are some of the ways you can build healthier bones.
Eat enough vegetables.
Veggies are excellent for your bones as they are one of the best sources you can get vitamin C from. Vitamin C activates the production of bone-forming cells. Additionally, few studies also found that the antioxidant effect of vitamin C can protect bone cells from damage.
Vegetables can also raise the mineral density of your bones, which is known as bone density.
The measurement of other minerals along with calcium found present in your bones is your bone density. Both osteoporosis, a condition in which your bones become brittle and fragile, and osteopenia, a condition where the body doesn’t make new bones as quickly as it absorbs old ones are conditions caused by low bone density.
A high consumption of yellow and green vegetables has been associated with maintenance of bone mass in young adults and increasing bone mineralization during your childhood period.
Eating vegetables adequately also has been found to benefit older women.
A study conducted on women over 50 found those who had taken onions regularly had a lower risk of osteoporosis, in comparison to those who didn’t take them.
Another major risk factor for osteoporosis is increased bone turnover, which is the process of forming and breaking down bones.
In a three-month study, women who took more than nine servings of cabbage, broccoli, parsley, or other plants that are high in bone protecting antioxidants, had a decrease in bone turnover.
Take enough proteins.
Getting adequate amounts of protein is necessary for good bone health. As a matter of fact, around 50% of our bones are made up of proteins. Researchers have found that low intake of protein can cause a decrease in absorption of calcium and can also affect the rate of bone formation and breakdown.
But another issue worth concerning is that high protein diets drain calcium from bones to counteract the increase in acidity in your blood.
Nonetheless, studies have also found that this situation does not occur in individuals who take protein up to 100 grams regularly, so long as this is balanced with adequate calcium intake and a lot of plant foods.
In fact, according to research, older women specifically have significantly better bone density when their food intake is loaded with high amounts of protein.
In a large observation study consisting of over 144,000 postmenopausal women in over six periods, higher intake of protein was associated with significantly higher bone density in the spine, hip, and the body overall, as well as a lower risk of forearm fractures. Many US adults started taking protein powder so to avoid this condition.
Additionally, during weight loss, diets infused with high amount of calories from proteins can help in preserving bone mass In another one year study on women who consumed 86 grams of protein regularly on a calorie restricted diet lost lesser bone mass in their spine, hip, arms as well legs in comparison to those who were on 60 grams of protein per day.
Perform weight bearing and strength training exercises.
Engaging in certain types of exercises can help you build strong bones, the best type of activities that help in building stronger bones are high impact and weight-bearing exercises as they promote the formation of new bones.
Studies on children, including those suffering from type 1 diabetes, have shown that these kinds of activities increase the amount of bone created during years of peak bone growth.
Additionally, it may be beneficial for prevention of bone loss in older adults.
Studies conducted on both older men and women who carry out weight bearing exercises showcased an increase in bone strength, bone size, and bone mineral density, as well as inflammation and reduction in markers of bone turnover.
However, another study was done on older men who carried out the highest level of weight bearing exercises over a period of nine months but showed significantly lesser improvement in their bone density.
Strength training exercises are not only beneficial for increasing your muscle mass, but also for helping protect against bone loss in both older and younger women, which includes those with breast cancer, osteoporosis, and osteopenia.
Another study consisting of men who had lower bone mass showed although both weight-bearing and resistance training exercises increased their bone density in various parts of their body, but only the resistance training effectively increased the bone density in the hip.
Get a lot of Vitamin K and D
Vitamin K and D are extremely vital for building stronger bones. As a matter of fact, modifying osteocalcin is the primary function of Vitamin K to boost bone health, which is a protein responsible for the formation of bone. This modification allows osteocalcin to hold the supplements together to the bones and helps in preventing the loss of calcium from your bones.
The most common forms of Vitamin K2 are MK-7 and MK-4, MK-4 is present in meat, liver and eggs in small quantities. Fermented foods such as sauerkraut, soybean product natto and cheese contain MK-7.
A small study on young healthy women showed that MK-7 supplements increased vitamin K2 levels in blood more than MK-4.
Nonetheless, other similar studies have shown that supplements of both vitamin K2 help in osteocalcin modification and in raising the bone density in postmenopausal women and bone density in children.
In a study consisting of women in the age group of 50 to 65, those who consumed MK-4 maintained their bone density, while the group that had placebo showcased a significant reduction in bone density after a period of 12 months.
However, another study of over a 12-month period showed no remarkable difference in bone loss between women who were not supplemented with natto, and those who had it.
Vitamin D plays various roles in bone health, such as helping your body in absorbing calcium. Achieving a blood level of 30 ng/ml, which is recommended for protecting against osteoporosis, osteopenia, and other diseases related to bones.
Studies have shown that kids as well as adults with low levels of vitamin D tend to have a lower density of bones are at higher risk of bone loss in comparison to people who get an adequate amount.
Unfortunately, deficiency of vitamin D is a common issue, and affects around 1 billion people worldwide.
You can also get sufficient vitamin D from exposure to the sun and food sources such as cheese, fish, liver. However, a lot of people require supplementations of up to 2,000 IU of vitamin D regularly to maintain optimal levels.
Avoid diets that are extremely low at calorie.
Reducing calories to too low is never a great idea. It can bring about negative effects of slowing down your metabolism and causing muscle loss, it can also be harmful for your bone health.
Studies have shown that following diets that provide calories lower than 1,000 each day can cause lower bone density in overweight or obese as well as normal weighted individuals.
In a study, obese women who took around 925 calories each day for a period of four months experienced a significant loss of bone density from their upper thigh region and their hip, regardless of whether they did resistance training or not.
Conclusion
Your bone health is important in all stages of your life. However, having strong bones is taken for granted, and not taken seriously till the symptoms appear. Luckily, there are numerous lifestyle and nutritious habits that can be used for building and maintaining strong bones.