Content provided by the Health & Wellness Team at GBS Benefits
Vampires, ghosts, and skeletons are Halloween costumes that have stood the test of time. Let’s make sure your skeleton does the same by focusing on bone health this spooky season!
Throughout life our bones are in a constant state of remodeling, and as we age, more bone is broken down and replaced. By our mid to late 20s peak bone mass has been achieved and it’s time to maintain and keep those bones strong. The risk of brittle bones and stress fractures increases as you age, especially in women. In fact, half of women over the age of fifty will break a bone at some point in their lives because of osteoporosis (a condition where bones are especially weak and brittle).
Here are some suggestions to keep your bones healthy.
Bone Robbers
Don’t let these bone robbers “haunt” your skeletal health!
- Sedentary lifestyle: movement is key to bone health. As you put stress on your bones through exercise, they sense they need to grow stronger.
- Smoking: smoking is linked to low bone density.
- Alcohol: heavy drinking weakens bones.
- Soda: soda consumption, specifically cola-based and caffeinated options, can weaken bones by altering your body’s balance of calcium and phosphorus in an unfavorable direction.
- Extremely low body weight: those who have a low body weight experience significant amounts of bone density loss.
Bone Builders
Build and maintain strong bones with these tips:
- Active lifestyle: the more active you are, the more strain you put on your bones. The cells in your bones sense that stress and respond by making your bones denser and stronger. The best activities are those that are weight bearing (strength training) or have multidirectional forces through the bone like jumping, dancing, tennis, basketball, etc.
- Calcium in combination with vitamin D: calcium is a key ingredient for building bones. It is also essential for regulating your heart rhythm, transmitting nerve impulses so your muscles can contract. When there isn’t enough calcium to go around, your body borrows some from your skeleton. Eat a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D.
- Vitamin K: low levels of vitamin K have been linked to low bone density. Increase the leafy greens and veggies!
- Magnesium: magnesium in combination with the previous micronutrients has been linked to a decreased risk of osteoporosis.
