Strong and flexible bones
Yes, you heard me, "flexible" you want them to have a little give to it, so they don't break like a brittle bone. Think of a piece of chalk, it's hard and it's made of calcium like our bones, but if you drop it, it will snap in half. So, we will need nutrition (of course!) and exercise to maintain its strength and flexibility. And, not just calcium, but magnesium, phosphorus, boron, vitamin K, vitamin D, and Collagen!
But, let's back up a bit, and discuss, what are bones? Bones are the material that make up our skeleton. Our bones anchor us. All of our muscles and organs are anchored to our bone. Our bones are not hard mineral sticks, bones are living organs, complex tissue that interacts with all the other systems of the body. Bones bleed!!! Yes, bones have a blood supply and nerve tissue. Bones can feel. And they are constantly building up and breaking down. This is called remodeling. The body remodels bone on a daily basis; it breaks down bone to provide minerals for the body to use. As a child, your bone breaks down but gets built back up stronger than it was previously. This remodeling occurs until we hit age 30-35, when our bones stop growing or accumulating bone mass. As we get older, especially once we pass menopause or andropause (male menopause ), because we stop secreting the hormones that are so protective for our bones, the broken down bone does not always get completely replaced leaving a deficit every time. This deficit leaves us with thinner and weaker bones.
A lot of you have probably heard the term, Osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is defined as a medical condition in which the bones become brittle and fragile from loss of bone tissue. This is a real problem in the elderly. About 20% of women will get Osteoporosis and 50% of all women and men will have Osteopenia, which is a reduction in bone mass. Bones break, especially in the spine and people get smaller and hunched over, organs gets squished, people get weaker, and they feel pain. Vertebral fractures are one of the reasons for chronic pain. You hear about people who fall and fracture their hip. This is a very dangerous situation because hip fractures often precede health complications. 20% of those people having a hip fracture will died in the year following the hip fracture. And 20% of those who survive the year following a hip fracture will be placed in nursing home care. So make sure you clear your hallways, make sure rugs are taped down, wear your glasses if you can’t see, make sure you have good lighting.
In private practice, to access risk for Osteoporosis, this is what I look for and you can look for this too!
Five Simple Tests to Assess Your Bone Health:
If you have loss more than 2 centimeters in height over the last 1-3 years. — You have shrunk because your bones are thinner
If you weigh less than 112 lbs — Gravity pulls minerals into your bone, that's why weight-bearing exercise is so important
If there is less than 2 fingers breath between the bottom of your ribs and the top of your hip bone. — It means you have shrunk due to thinning bones, or worse, vertebral fractures.
If you have less than 20 teeth. — Remember teeth are bones and teeth are anchored in bone.
If I make you stand with your heels and back against the wall and it’s hard for you to touch the wall with your occiput (that hard bump at the base of your skull) — A sure sign that your bones aren't holding you up anymore.
So what can you do? Nutrition of course! As I mentioned above: calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, boron, vitamin K, vitamin D, and collagen.
Foods that will help you build bone are: broccoli, kale, spinach, soy, sardines, red kidney beans, and flaxseeds.
Also, weight bearing exercising is the most important. Most exercise is weight bearing with the exception of swimming where you are suspended. You bear your own weight when you walk or jog, but if you strap on ankle weights or do weight lifting, you get that added edge to building bones.
