Bone Health
A nutrition topic rarely discussed is bone health – but it is one that is so important. Peak bone mass, the maximum amount of bone a person has attained during their life, is 90% complete by the time we are 18 years old.1 However, there can be slight increases in bone mass throughout our 20s. After peak bone mass is reached, there is a slow and steady decline in our bone mass and a very rapid decline for post-menopausal women.1 So how can we prevent or slow this bone loss? There are a few ways I will discuss in this post.
Prevention
The first method for decreasing bone loss is prevention in younger years. The period of time in which the greatest bone growth in size and strength is during puberty and adolescence. Therefore, during this time it is extremely important to make sure adolescents are achieving the best possible bone health.1 One way to ensure optimum bone health is to get sufficient amounts of calcium, vitamin D and protein from diet. This includes regularly eating foods such as fortified dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt), meat, poultry, fish, whole grains, beans, lentils and nuts. Secondly, adolescents should participate in bone-strengthening activities at least 3 days a week – these activities include hopping, skipping, jumping rope, running, gymnastics, lifting weights, volleyball, tennis and basketball.
Slowing Bone Loss
However, for most of us – we are likely past the age of prevention and must focus on slowing the rate at which we lose bone. The recommendation remains that we must participate in bone-strengthening activities at least 3 days a week. We also still need to consume sufficient amounts of calcium, vitamin D and protein – in fact, our body’s needs for vitamin D and calcium increase as we age. Getting enough of these minerals is crucial to maintaining and slowing bone loss. However, it can be difficult to keep up with our body’s demands for these nutrients through food alone. In these cases, a supplement can be a very efficient and useful way to make sure we are getting enough vitamin D and calcium in our diets. One of my favorite supplements for bone health is Bone Strength Take Care by New Chapter since this product has a combination of vitamin D, calcium and various other vital nutrients all in one capsule.
New Chapter makes supplements from real ingredients – all products are made from whole foods and mostly organic ingredients to meet almost any nutritional need. These are high-quality products that can not only help maintain bone health, but meet any nutrient need.
Sources
1 Gernand, A. Bone Health [powerpoint] (2018). Retrieved from: canvas.psu.edu
2 https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/
3 https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Calcium-HealthProfessional/
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