- Atreum Speciality Hospital
- May 28, 2022
Simple Ways to Strengthen Bones as you Age
As a child, did your parents tell you to eat vegetables and drink your milk to build your bones?
Like most kids, even you must have probably rolled your eyes and didn’t think about your bones unless you broke one. Bones grow dense until you are 30 years old. After that, it is important to keep them strong.
You may have heard of osteoporosis, which causes the bones to thin as they age. It affects both men and women.
As you get older, it’s important to get a bone density test to measure your bone health and your bone mass. If you have osteoporosis, the bones can break easily. If you are a woman who has reached menopause, you are at risk of losing 20% of bone density in a decade. That is why it’s important to keep bones healthy and strong throughout your life.
Simple ways to strengthen bones
If you are over 40, you can do many things to slow down the naturally occurring bone loss. Some simple ways to keep your bones healthy are as follows;
Eat foods rich in calcium: Calcium is one of the most important components of bone health because it builds and maintains mass. One of the best things you can do is eat a high-calcium diet.
These foods include:
- Almonds
- Cheddar or mozzarella cheese
- Green greens
- Cottage cheese
- Leafy greens and green vegetables
- Milk
- Orange juice (reinforced)
- Sardines
- Tofu with added calcium
- Yogurt
In addition to calcium, there are other minerals that are important for bone health. Consider eating foods that contain magnesium and zinc. Magnesium is found in foods including dark chocolate, nuts, and avocados, and converts vitamin D into a form that helps your body absorb calcium.
Zinc is found in foods such as beef, shrimp, and spinach and helps maintain bone density as you age.
- Eat a diet rich in omega-3 fats: Omega-3 fats are important to your overall diet, including improving your bone health. Omega-3 foods are good for staying inflammation-free, which protects against bone loss.
Eat fatty fish and fatty plant sources, including:
- Canned light tuna
- Catfish
- Flaxseeds
- Pollock
- Salmon
- Shrimp
- Walnuts
- Get the right kind of exercise: Two specific types of exercise such as Weight-bearing and strength-training can help with bone health and are great for promoting bone formation and keeping bones strong. This is because the bones strengthen through stress-related exercise.
- Take the right vitamins: It can sometimes be confusing to say which vitamins are good for different parts of your body. Here is a shortlist of what your bones need:
Vitamin C found in fruits and vegetables protects bone cells from damage while stimulating the production of bone cells.
Vitamin D, often exposed to sunlight, fatty fish, certain dairy products, and supplements helps absorb the calcium needed for bone protection.
Vitamin K2, found in fermented foods, liver, eggs, and meat, supports a particular protein that forms bone. It helps prevent bones from calcium loss.
- Get more sleep: Studies have shown that sleeping less than six hours a night can increase your risk of developing osteoporosis. This is because bones do not repair themselves without quality or adequate sleep. Prioritize a good night’s sleep.
If you are having any queries related to bone health, visit Atreum Speciality Hospital, the orthopedic speciality hospital in R R Nagar.
