As we age, bone strength decreases and this can lead to osteoporosis. But you can keep your bones healthy by eating properly, getting adequate weight bearing exercise and avoiding bad habits like smoking and excessive drinking.
Calcium can be found in dairy products, leafy greens, beans and certain nuts and seeds – you can also increase your calcium intake with calcium-enriched orange juice or cereal!
Eat a Healthy Diet
Food plays a significant role in maintaining bone health. Eating healthily is crucial to avoiding conditions like osteoporosis, an illness in which weak and fragile bones become vulnerable to breakage more easily. A diet rich in calcium, vitamin D and protein will help ensure you enjoy good bone health throughout life.
Dairy products are an excellent source of calcium, with many milk and yogurt brands fortifying them with vitamin D to increase their nutritional value. Leafy greens also boast ample amounts of calcium while providing other essential vitamins such as C and K; one cup of cooked bok choy, Chinese cabbage, kale spinach or turnip greens will deliver around 200 milligrams, or 20% of your daily calcium goal.
Choose lean proteins like poultry, fish and low-fat dairy and incorporate whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds into your meals to maximize calcium absorption by the body. Just be wary not to overdo your protein consumption as excess protein could interfere with this process.
Get Regular Exercise
Exercise is essential to bone health at any age. In children and adolescence, the body produces more new bone than it breaks down old bone – increasing bone mass until they reach peak bone density by around age 30. As people age, however, bone density diminishes more rapidly than it can be rebuilt back up – thus making regular physical activity crucial in order to prevent osteoporosis and other diseases affecting bones.
Exercise regimen that combines aerobic and resistance exercises is best for improving bone strength and decreasing the risk of fractures, as well as exercises designed to increase balance, such as Tai chi. Balance exercises such as Tai Chi may also help decrease falls and injuries caused by them.
Most adults require 150 to 300 minutes of moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity each week, including aerobic, muscle-building and balance activities such as walking, dancing, swimming or bicycling. Examples of aerobic exercises are walking, dancing, swimming and biking.
Get Enough Calcium
Calcium is essential in helping build and maintain strong bones. Calcium also plays an essential role in blood pressure regulation, cell communication and muscle movement – not only can you find it in bone structures like teeth and bones; its benefits go much further!
Calcium intake is vitally important at all stages in life, particularly for children and seniors alike. Doing so can help prevent osteoporosis, which causes bones to thin out and break easily.
Dietary sources of calcium include low-fat milk, yoghurt, cheese, broccoli, Chinese cabbage and soy products; breakfast cereals and juices may also contain fortified calcium supplements. When choosing supplements as a source of calcium intake, be sure to read labels that indicate bioavailability rates; this tells you how much of it actually makes its way into your system. To maximize absorption rates of these supplements and avoid those containing excessive phosphorous and magnesium which could increase kidney stone risk for some individuals; for more advice speak to your healthcare provider today!
Get Enough Vitamin D
Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium, essential for strong bones. Children who don’t get enough vitamin D may not reach their potential height and could potentially develop rickets disease that causes weak bones and bow-leggedness.
An extreme vitamin D deficiency can result in osteomalacia in adults and increase bone loss among elderly individuals at high risk for osteoporosis. Vitamin D is known as “the sunshine vitamin”, produced naturally when skin exposure to sunlight occurs; however, during winter when sun exposure decreases and people tend to stay indoors wearing hats more than usual, taking supplements or eating fortified foods may provide extra doses of essential Vitamin D.
Food sources of Vitamin D include fortified milk and cereal, egg yolks, salmon, mackerel and sardines as well as supplements such as gummy vitamins or liquid forms of Vitamin D.