5 Ways To Keep Your Bones Healthy
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Age is just a number they say, but do our bones age well? Definitely not. Our body constantly keeps building and tearing down, new & old bones throughout our lives. However, as we get older, our body starts tearing down more bone than it can produce. Most human beings attain maximum bone density by the time they hit the age of 20. As we progress through adulthood, it is imperative that we keep maintaining & building bone strength. Let’s look at 5 simple ways to keep bones healthy.
Make Healthy Food Choices: Bone strength is maintained and built over time. Research indicates that people who eat onions, broccoli & green leafy vegetables on a regular basis are keen to have healthier bones in later stages of their lives. Milk, yoghurt, cheese & other calcium-rich foods are a natural way of sourcing calcium for the body. Proteins help in calcium absorption, and a healthy balance of protein-rich diet is incremental in keeping the bones strong.
Avoiding caffeine is also a good way to keep our bones stronger. Research indicates that excess coffee intake causes loss of calcium while urinating.
Avoid Smoking: Smoking contributes adversely to bone health, it disrupts calcium absorption, thereby affecting bone density in the long run. Smokers are prone to a fracture from an injury, more easily than non-smokers. With women, however, the effects can be different. Smoking affects the menstrual cycle & can cause menopause to hit early, thereby increasing the loss of bone density loss due to lack of estrogen.
Regular Exercise: Exercising 4-5 times a week can help you avoid a multitude of disorders, including osteoporosis. Exercising helps build both muscle & bone strength. Stronger muscles give the right support to the bone and help in avoiding damage from physical injuries.
A Bit of The Morning Sun: When the body is exposed to moderate sunlight, it produces vitamin D in response to said exposure. Vitamin D is incremental in helping the body absorb calcium. As little as 30 minutes of sunlight a week is good enough for most of us. Apart from sunlight, natural Food sources of vitamin D include seafood such as salmon, mackerel and tuna; egg yolk; & cheese.
Supplements: If for some reason walking in the sun, exercising, & maintaining a healthy diet chart is not in your Wishlist, then you can always opt for supplements. Various oral supplements for both calcium & Vitamins D & other minerals are available on prescription.
Even with all the amendments in lifestyle & diet, we may not have the best bones when we grow older. It is advisable not to avoid pain in the joints, difficulty in motion or a simple backache. These can be the cries, that our bones want us to hear. Online consultation from a Doctor on DocsApp, can help you know more about any symptoms or underlying causes.
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