Skip to main content

Inner Strength: How and Why to Keep Your Bones Strong

  The way I easily learned the humerus bone (in anatomy, for massage therapy) was by recalling how NOT humorous it was back when I broke my right humerus.

If you are under age 50, you probably aren't terribly concerned about your bones.  But you should be!  The latest issue of the Nutrition Action Healthletter summarizes the latest research findings.
 Your bones generally reach peak mass in your 30s and by your 50s most folks start to lose a significant proportion of their bone mass (men too, although women lose bone more rapidly).

A million and a half Canadians have osteoporosis and many more have low bone mass and don't even know it.  Not only does this put you at risk for fractures, it also costs our health system millions of dollars.  Among frail, elderly, a fracture can also mean death.  Osteoporosis is referred to as the silent disease because often people don't know they have it until they experience a serious break.

Genes play a role in your risk of osteoporosis, but lifestyle also has a significant impact on risk and is the one thing you can control.  Uncontrollable risk factors include being over 50, being female, having a small/thin body type, and a family history of weak bones or fractures.  So how can you minimize your risk of osteoporosis and associated bone fractures?

1. Strength training - Keeps both bones and muscles strong and reduces the risk of falls.
2. Consume sufficient calcium, mostly from food sources rather than supplements.
3. Take a Vitamin D supplement.
4. Don't smoke and limit alcohol consumption.
5. Avoid medications that are linked to bone loss, if possible.

Another thing to watch is the amount of acid you get through your diet.  This does not mean avoid acidic foods like citrus, etc., it refers to foods that have a high potential renal acid load when they break down in your body.  The ones with the highest load are proteins, particularly animal proteins, as well as grains.  Those that have a high negative potential renal acid load (i.e. are good for bones) are veggies and fruits.  That being said, it is important for older adults to get sufficient protein to avoid muscle loss so older adults most at risk should consider limiting their consumption of cereals and grains instead.

Even if you are young and don't think osteoporosis will ever effect you, following all the tips for minimizing your risk make good sense anyways.  Exercise, eat a healthy, plant-based diet, don't smoke and limit alcohol. Capiche?



Comments

  1. Thanks for the valuable reminders. Building strong bones is helpful for everyone

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Japanese 7-Spice Kelp Noodles

I love trying new spices and seasonings, so I am very excited that the President's Choice Black Label line now has a bunch of new spice blends available.  My most recent find: Shichimi Togarashi, or Japanese 7-Spice blend. It's a combination of crushed red chili flakes, sea salt, Szechiuan peppercorns, black and white sesame seeds, poppy seeds, orange zest, wasabi powder and nori seaweed flakes. I make Japanese-inspired dishes all the time, but resort to the same old flavours most of the time: miso, soy, sesame, ginger and garlic.  I was so excited to be able to liven things up a bit. This dish is easy and tasty, although be warned that this seasoning packs punch.  I used 1 tsp, which ended up being too spicy for me, and I have a high tolerance for heat!  I recommend 1/4-1/2 tsp, or, if you don't like heat at all, make your own at home and omit the red chili flakes.  You'll get all the flavour without the heat. I served these noodles with a mix of seafood (

Blackfly Coolers: Product Review

Summer is over! Well, at least if you're a student. Officially it doesn't end for a few weeks, and it certainly still feels like summer. Yeah, I hate it. This f*cking hot, humid weather needs to end NOW! We made the most of our last weekend of the summer with our annual trip to the CNE on Friday, with a crowd of friends. It wasn't unbearably lot, thank goodness, and the girls and their friends had a blast on the rides.  Saturday I had to work, and Sunday was errand day. Monday we took the girls berry/apple/pear picking but didn't last long due to the heat. I organized the house to prepare for the construction workers starting back up yesterday, while Adam took the girls for a swim in our neighbourhood pool. Yesterday was the first day of school. Grade 2 and Grade 5. Yep, the girls are growing up.  We are fortunate that the girls don't have much anxiety about school, they are so much more confident than I ever was as a kid! But now, in the midst of our reno ch

How to Look Like a Celebrity

Okay, I know you're going to be interested in this post! I am sure virtually every woman in North America has wondered how Hollywood celebrities achieve such 'perfect' bodies.  Well, at CAN FIT PRO last week, one of Hollywood's top fitness trainers, Eric the Trainer , was there to tell us fitness professionals the secrets! Eric the Trainer, gave several presentations, and I caught the one on Celebrity Secrets, and it was most interesting!!!  I also found some of what he said rather disturbing. First off, he was very upfront about the fact that celebrities come to him for improve their appearance.  Not to improve their health or athletic performance.  To look their best.  He admitted that his approach then, is entirely dedicated to that end. Male and female celebrities are trained in completely different ways because Hollywood wants women to be lithe and thin and in his words, "look like they dropped out of heaven looking this way without every having ste