Bones play many roles in the body. They provide structure, protect organs, anchor muscles, and store calcium. Healthy balanced diet helps you build healthy bones at an early age and maintain them throughout your life. Even though building strong and healthy bones during childhood and adolescence is important, you can also take steps to protect bone health once you reach adulthood. Having healthy bones is of extreme importance. If not enough bone mass is built during this period, or if you lose bone mass later on in life, you have a greater risk of developing fragile bones that break easily. The good news is that you can build strong bones and maintain them with some diet and lifestyle habits.
Throughout your life, your bones are constantly changing – new bone is formed and old bone is broken down. When you’re young, your bones develop faster than they break down, and you have greater bone density. The average person reaches their peak bone density around age 30. Thereafter, bone mass continues to diminish, although slightly more than you gain.
Eat Lots of Vegetables
You need vegetables for strong bones. They’re one of the best sources of vitamin C, which may stimulate the formation of bone cells. Vitamin C’s antioxidant properties may also protect your bones. As a matter of fact, adding vegetables to your diet also seems to enhance bone mineral density, which is a measure of how much calcium and other minerals are present in your bones. Deficiencies in bone density are the characteristics of both osteopenia (low bone density) and osteoporosis (brittle bones).
Vitamin D
The body needs vitamin D to absorb calcium. However, most kids do not eat many food sources of vitamin D. Your body can’t absorb calcium without vitamin D. The majority of the vitamin D we need comes from the sun acting on our skin. It is hard to get all the vitamin D we need from our diet. For adults ages 19 to 70, the recommended daily allowance of vitamin D is 600 international units (IU) a day. Since vitamin D is so important, health care providers recommend that all children who don’t get enough vitamin D in their diet take a vitamin D supplement. Vitamin D is also important for infants who drink less than 32 ounces of formula daily.
Consume Enough Protein
It is reported that low protein intake can reduce calcium absorption and also result in a reduction in bone formation and degradation. Protein is essential for healthy bones. In fact, about 50% of bones are made up of protein. In addition, there is concern that excessive protein consumption can leach calcium from bones to offset blood acidity. Studies have found that this doesn’t occur in people who consume a daily protein intake of up to 100 grams, particularly when it is balanced with an adequate calcium intake and plenty of plant foods. A low protein intake, however, leads to bone loss, whereas a high protein intake helps to protect bone health during aging and weight loss. Research indicates that, in particular, older women seem to have better bone density when they consume greater amounts of protein.
Calcium
In addition to being the main mineral found in your bones, calcium is also the most important mineral for bone health. Since old bone cells are constantly being replaced by new ones, our bodies need to consume calcium to maintain a strong, healthy structure. Calcium has an RDI of 1,000 milligrams for most people, though teens need 1,300 milligrams and older women need 1,200 milligrams.
Avoid Very Low-Calorie Diets
A diet that restricts calories too drastically can slow down your metabolism, create rebound hunger and lead to muscle loss. For those with osteoporosis, it may also cause bone loss. Research has shown that weight-bearing, overweight or obese individuals with fewer than 1,000 calories per day may have a reduced bone density. Regardless of whether obese women performed resistance training, those consuming 925 calories per day for four months experienced a significant loss of bone density in the hips and upper thighs. Bone density is reduced by too few calories in the diet, even when exercised regularly. To maintain bone health, consume at least 1,200 calories every day.
Control your Vitamin A Intake
According to some research, an excessive intake of vitamin A may increase the risk of bone fractures. It is advised that people regularly eating liver (a rich source of vitamin A) limit their consumption to once a week, or take retinol supplements (a form of vitamin A that can be found in foods that originate from animals).
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