Save Your Bones

September 28th, 2009

Bones are some of the most important things in your body. They provide you with support, structure, and protection. Also, if it were not for bones, your muscles would also be useless because bones provide muscles with anchor points that allow you to flex your muscles and lift your arms, legs, fingers, and toes. This is why keeping your bones healthy and strong now is so important, especially since the aging process will take an unavoidable toll on your bone health.

Healthy bones are resilient. They are living things, which means that if you break a healthy bone, such as if you were to break your leg, it will eventually heal again, allowing you to resume your normal activity where the injury once was. However, if you break a weak and brittle bone, your injury will take much longer to heal – if it heals at all. In addition, weak and brittle bones are much more prone to breaking or fracturing than healthy bones, which are stronger and denser. As you age, your bones will inevitably weaken, especially if you suffer from osteoporosis, which is a condition that leads to a loss of bone mass and bone tissue, turning your bones from solid to brittle and porous. The key to lessening the impact of bone loss is to bulk up your bones today as much as possible.

One of the best ways to ensure bone health is to get plenty of calcium in your diet. Calcium is found in most dairy products, such as yogurts and cheeses, as well as in collard greens and almonds. You can find a list of the delicious calcium-rich foods that you can integrate into your diet on this International Osteoporosis Foundation webpage. Certain vitamins also aid in calcium absorption, such as Vitamin D. This is why milk is typically fortified with Vitamin D these days. So if you are buying a new gallon of milk, consider buying one that has been fortified with the vitamin in order to get the most calcium out of it. In addition to adding more calcium into your diet, dial up your daily dose of weight-bearing physical activity. These activities include running, jumping, and weight lifting, which all help to build up bone strength.

Though all people experience some bone loss as they age, you can limit the effects of such loss by keeping your bones as healthy and strong as possible today.

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