It's easier than you think to preserve your bone health. Learn how food, exercise, and other lifestyle factors affect your bone mass. Bones serve a variety of functions in the body, including structure, protection of organs, muscular support, and calcium storage. While it's critical to develop strong bones throughout childhood and adolescence, you can also do things now to safeguard bone strength as an adult. This article explores tips on how to improve your bone health.
Why is Bone Health Essential?
Bone health is vital for a variety of reasons. A strong bone matrix is essential for overall health and for preventing common issues like fractures and osteoporosis. Bones also play an indispensable role in improving balance and stability, which are crucial for preventing falls and injuries. Maintaining good bone health is vital throughout your life, and there are many things you can do to help keep your bones strong and healthy.
What Factors Influence Bone Health?
Our bones' health is determined by various factors, including our diet, exercise habits, and overall lifestyle. Our environment and genetics can also play a role in the strength and health of our bones. To preserve your bone health, it's important to understand what affects your bones and take steps to optimize your bone health.
One of the things you can do for your bones is to eat a healthy diet. Foods high in calcium and vitamin D are essential for maintaining strong bones. Dairy products, leafy green vegetables, and nuts are all excellent sources of calcium, while salmon, eggs, and cheese are good sources of vitamin D. It's also essential to avoid foods high in sugar, as too much sugar can damage bones over time.
Exercise is another crucial factor for maintaining bone health. Weight-bearing exercises help strengthen bones and protect them against fractures. Activities like running, weightlifting, and climbing stairs are all great exercises for improving bone health. It's also important to stay active; moving around more can help reduce the risk of falls and fractures.
Your lifestyle also plays a role in bone health. Smoking and drinking alcohol can both damage bones over time. If you want to preserve your bone health, it's essential to quit smoking and limit your alcohol intake.
Talk to your doctor for ways to optimize your bone health. They may recommend medications or supplements to help improve your bone density or prevent osteoporosis. If you're worried about your bone health, don't hesitate to reach out to a gastroenterologist for help.
Can I keep my Bones Strong?
Here are several ways you can avoid or slow bone loss. For example:
- Include adequate calcium in your diet. Adults 19-50 years old and men 51-70 should consume 1,000 mg of calcium each day, according to the National Institute of Health. For women age 51 and older, 1,200 mg is suggested; for men age 71 and up, 1,400 mg. Dairy products, almonds, broccoli, kale, canned salmon with bones, sardines, and soy foods like tofu are all excellent sources of calcium. If you can't get enough calcium from your diet, speak to your doctor about supplements.
- Vitamin D is a little-known nutrient that may help you live longer and aids in the absorption of calcium from your diet by your body. The daily recommended vitamin D intake for adults aged 19 to 70 is 600 international units (IUs). Adults over 71 are advised to consume 800 international units (IUs) daily. Vitamin D is present in various foods, including fatty fish like salmon, trout, whitefish, and tuna. Mushrooms, eggs, and fortified meals like milk and grains are excellent sources of vitamin D. Vitamin D is also produced by sunlight.
- Include physical activity in your daily routine. Weight-bearing exercises, such as walking, jogging, and going up and down stairs, can aid in bone formation and loss prevention.
- Avoid substance abuse. Smoking is not a good idea. Avoid drinking more than one alcoholic drink daily if you are a woman. If you are a man, avoid drinking more than two alcoholic beverages daily.
How To Test Your Bone Density?
A bone mineral density (BMD) test can briefly examine your bone health. Osteoporosis, the risk of fractures (broken bones), and the response to osteoporosis therapy may all be determined by this test. The most frequent BMD test is a central dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, or central DXA test. The hip and lumbar spine are regions where bone density can be measured with this technique.
BMD test results are compared to the bone mineral density of a healthy young adult, and you're given a T-score if they fall within the normal range. Your BMD is compared to a healthy young adult norm and has values ranging from 0 to 1 in terms of standard deviations (SDs). The lower your BMD, the higher your risk of fracture, as indicated by more significant negative numbers.
All women age 65 and older should be screened for bone density, according to the US Preventive Services Task Force. A BMD test is also advised for postmenopausal women at increased risk of osteoporosis - as determined by a standard clinical risk assessment tool - while they are younger than 65. The Task Force did not offer suggestions on osteoporosis screening in men due to a lack of available evidence.
NewSouth NeuroSpine's Wants Your Bones To Be Healthy
At NewSouth NeuroSpine, we hope that you live a long healthy life, including strong bones. However, as we get older and sometimes by external factors this isn’t always possible. From injury caused by an accident or a diagnosis of disease like osteoporosis. We can help from diagnosis to treatment when it comes to the health of your bones.
We encourage you to contact us today to learn more about how we can help you.
