Keep Your Aging Bones Healthier Through Better Nutrition, Lifestyle

As you grow older, it is inevitable that your bones will become more fragile. It’s simply part of your body’s natural life cycle. But that doesn’t mean you are powerless to slow the process – or bolster the strength of your bones to avoid osteoporosis.

From the time you are born, your bone tissue is constantly breaking down and rebuilding, through bone remodeling. The process operates at different rates throughout your life.

You reach peak bone mass in your 20s and then hit a period of stability throughout your 30s. But then sometime in your 40s and 50s, your bones start breaking down faster than your body can rebuild them.

But while this process is the same for everyone, it doesn’t happen at the same rate for everyone. It is more pronounced, for example, in post-menopausal women because of their hormones. Bone loss can also be accelerated by other factors, including lack of exercise, some medications, smoking, drinking and poor nutrition.

Before we explore the ways that nutrition can support bone health, let’s consider one of the dangers of bone loss.

Osteoporosis

In some instances, bone loss accelerates to the point where it leads to osteoporosis, a disease that significantly weakens your bones and makes them far more vulnerable to breakage. The disease affects an estimated 50 million people in the U.S., though women are more likely to get it.

Most people have no idea they have osteoporosis until they suffer a broken bone, most commonly in the hips, wrists or spine. There are, however, some early warning signs:

• Losing an inch or more of height
• Stooping or other changes in your natural posture
• Shortness of breath, which can be caused by the compression of spinal discs
• Lower back pain

Once you have osteoporosis, there is no cure. But there are treatments that can reduce the risk of fractures. Fortunately, there are strategies that can keep your bones strong and help you avoid this disease.

Bone-Boosting Strategies

The most effective way to help your bones is during adolescence, when you have the chance to build up substantial bone mass, giving you more to work with as you get older. Of course, that’s great to know if you are still an adolescent. But once those years have passed, that opportunity is lost.

Instead, you need to focus on lifestyle and nutritional options for protection. You can start by avoiding smoking and excessive drinking. Maintain a healthy weight. And stay active with weight-bearing exercises, including dancing, aerobics, hiking, jogging/running, stair climbing and sports like tennis or pickleball.

The foods and nutrients you consume will also play a key role, with an emphasis on a protein-rich diet that delivers both calcium and vitamin D.

Calcium is a mineral that isn’t made by your body but is necessary to build and maintain bones. It also helps with other functions, including muscle control and blood circulation. Vitamin D is important because it helps your body absorb calcium from food.

Finding Calcium and Vitamin D

Calcium and Vitamin D needs vary from person to person, based on age and underlying medical conditions. The average healthy adult over the age of 50 should aim for 600 international units of Vitamin D and 1,000-1,200 mg of calcium daily.

One difficulty with Vitamin D is that it is not readily found in food. It is most abundant in oily fish such as trout, salmon, mackerel and sardines. Your body also creates the vitamin when you are exposed to sunlight (10-20 minutes during peak hours). Supplements, however, may be the easiest way to ensure an adequate daily supply.

Calcium is much more plentiful in food. Consider these options:

• 1 cup of milk (300 mg)
• 1 cup of fat-free yogurt (300 mg)
• 2 ounces of American cheese (300 mg)
• 1 cup of ready-to-eat pudding (300 mg)
• 3 ounces of canned salmon, with soft bones (200 mg)
• 1 ounce of feta cheese (200 mg)
• 1 cup of cottage cheese (150 mg)
• ¼ cup of almonds (100 mg)
• English muffin (100 mg)
• Medium orange (50mg)
• ½ cup of cooked broccoli (50mg)

As with other areas of medicine, there are often claims made about the potential value of other nutrients. And indeed, there is research underway on some of those nutrients. But currently, the only proven nutritional components are protein, Vitamin D and calcium. So, stay focused on those and make your bones as healthy as they can be.