Healthy Bones For Life in 8 Easy Steps!
Recently, I visited one of the most amazing exhibits I’ve ever seen. It’s called “Bodies: The Exhibition.” Most of you have probably seen promotional ads since it arrived in the USA several years ago. I’d highly encourage you to go for a breathtaking tour of the human body – from arteries and muscles to the 206 bones that keep you vertical.
Speaking of which, it’s time to turn our attention to that part of the body most of you blow off and take for granted – your bones. Whenever I think about my bones, I recall an interview on The Today Show when Sister Genevieve Kunkel, one of the famous centenarian nuns of the Notre Dame, was asked about the secret of success for her extraordinary longevity. She winked and replied, “I have but two good traits. I’m alert, and I’m vertical!”
That became my mission statement – to stay mentally and physically vital. And vertical! You can’t stand tall and strong unless you bone up.
Everyone’s so obsessed with how much fat to remove or muscle to build, that the silent partner – our bones – is all but forgotten. You can’t see thinning bones and you often won’t know there’s a problem until your bone scan comes back abnormal or you experience a fracture.
Heads up, folks. Don’t forget to attend to your bone health now or you’ll be sorry later on. Did you know that over 34 million Americans have low bone mass and another 10 million already have osteoporosis? The 2004 Surgeon General’s report noted that 1 out of every 2 women over the age of 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture. Ouch! 80% of folks with osteoporosis are women, and the people at highest risk are Caucasians and Asians. Women have smaller less dense bones than men and that’s why we are at greater risk.
Lifestyle counts as well. Being over the age of 50, smoking, drinking excessive quantities of alcohol, lacking weight bearing and strength training exercise, and consuming a calcium-deficient diet are all risk factors for osteopenia (bone thinning) and osteoporosis (serious bone loss).
Hey, and don’t roll your eyes and think that these issues are for old folks. Wrong! You can start the process of bone loss as early as your teenage years if you’re not getting the calcium you need, rarely do weight bearing exercise and engage in poor lifestyle choices. So, listen up about your bone health, regardless of your age.
How about we promote great bone health right now? Whether you’re fine or already have osteopenia or osteoporosis, you need to integrate these simple steps into your lifestyle today.
1. Eat a bone-healthy diet. Healthy bones are all about making certain you get enough calcium in your diet. Did you know that 99% of calcium is stored in your bones? The rest you’ll find in soft tissues and blood. Dairy and soy are calcium rich as well as nuts, fish (sardines), fruits (oranges) and leafy greens such as kale and broccoli.
2. Take your calcium supplement. I’d love to think that we can all obtain the necessary amount of calcium from our diets. In this day and age, that’s unrealistic. Most women after the age of 40 need to supplement their diet with calcium. Calcium supplements come in various forms (carbonate, phosphate, citrate). Make certain to read the label (listed under nutrition facts in milligrams) to know how much you’re actually absorbing. Ideally, you’re taking 500 mg of calcium, fortified with Vitamin D, three times a day. Read the label instructions to know whether or not you need to take your supplement with meals. Feel free to switch your supplement if one form gives you any stomach upset.
3. Mind your bone-healthy nutrients. I recommend everyone take a gender and age specific multivitamin. Make sure it’s got the following bone-supporting nutrients and their RDA’s: folate 400mg; manganese 2.3 mg for men and 1.8 mg for women; magnesium 420 mg for men and 320 mg for women; phosphorus 700 mg; Vit C 90 mg for men and 75 mg for women; and zinc 11 mg for men and 8 mg for women.
4. Red alert on Vitamin D. Physicians have recently observed that more of their patients are Vitamin D deficient. I highly recommend that you ask your doctor to check your Vitamin D level. Vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol is essential for the absorption of calcium and bone remodeling. 15 minutes in the sun can help to boost Vit D levels in the body but it’s usually not enough. Top that with the fact that we’re now slathering on sunblock and our Vitamin D levels are plummeting. Our diets are often Vitamin D deficient. Who’s eating liver, egg yolks and butter? We are getting some Vitamin D from fortified cereals, tuna, salmon and mackerel. The current RDA is in the process of being reassessed. Most physicians are recommending a daily intake of 2000 IU. Make sure to supplement your diet with Vitamin D after you’ve been assessed by your medical team.
5. Exercise your bones. Your bones are optimally stimulated to lay down a stronger inner cortex when you are engaged in weight bearing exercise. That means walking, running and water aerobics. Strength training is absolutely imperative to maintain optimal bone strength throughout life. There are plenty of simple exercises you can do gym-free. Check out the exercises in Fit to Live (Rodale) and celebrate how easy staying strong and vertical can be!
6. Stop smoking and drink in moderation. Alcohol reduces the ability of the body to convert Vitamin D to its active form, resulting in decreased calcium absorption. As well, alcohol also increases magnesium excretion, further reducing calcium absorption. Finally, alcohol interferes with the production of estrogen and testosterone, hormones that are integral to bone health. Just remember to drink in moderation. Alarms go off for smokers as well. C’mon, people. Stop smoking now. Smokers are often thinner, sedentary, tend to drink more alcohol and tend not to consume bone healthy diets. No wonder they’re at risk for osteoporosis!
7. Get scanned. If you’re 40 years old, have an initial conversation with your doctor about your personal and family risk factors for osteoporosis. Based upon this dialogue, your physician may recommend a DEXA bone scan to monitor the status of their bones over time. This is also a great segue into the conversation you want to have about bone health in general, so don’t be shy. Let’s get that discussion going as soon as possible.
8. Mind your medications. Osteoporosis has a multitude of causes ranging from poor diet to medical conditions that lead to bone thinning. Based upon the cause, there are a host of medical options from the traditional biphosphonates (e.g. Fosamax and Boniva), to selective estrogen receptor modulators (e.g. Evista), and then to a brand new category of “biologics” such as Amgen’s Prolia which is set to launch in 2011. Make certain that you have a comprehensive assessment and discussion with your physician to help you choose the most appropriate medical therapy.
Courtesy: WebMD.com newsletter
Speaking of which, it’s time to turn our attention to that part of the body most of you blow off and take for granted – your bones. Whenever I think about my bones, I recall an interview on The Today Show when Sister Genevieve Kunkel, one of the famous centenarian nuns of the Notre Dame, was asked about the secret of success for her extraordinary longevity. She winked and replied, “I have but two good traits. I’m alert, and I’m vertical!”
That became my mission statement – to stay mentally and physically vital. And vertical! You can’t stand tall and strong unless you bone up.
Everyone’s so obsessed with how much fat to remove or muscle to build, that the silent partner – our bones – is all but forgotten. You can’t see thinning bones and you often won’t know there’s a problem until your bone scan comes back abnormal or you experience a fracture.
Heads up, folks. Don’t forget to attend to your bone health now or you’ll be sorry later on. Did you know that over 34 million Americans have low bone mass and another 10 million already have osteoporosis? The 2004 Surgeon General’s report noted that 1 out of every 2 women over the age of 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture. Ouch! 80% of folks with osteoporosis are women, and the people at highest risk are Caucasians and Asians. Women have smaller less dense bones than men and that’s why we are at greater risk.
Lifestyle counts as well. Being over the age of 50, smoking, drinking excessive quantities of alcohol, lacking weight bearing and strength training exercise, and consuming a calcium-deficient diet are all risk factors for osteopenia (bone thinning) and osteoporosis (serious bone loss).
Hey, and don’t roll your eyes and think that these issues are for old folks. Wrong! You can start the process of bone loss as early as your teenage years if you’re not getting the calcium you need, rarely do weight bearing exercise and engage in poor lifestyle choices. So, listen up about your bone health, regardless of your age.
How about we promote great bone health right now? Whether you’re fine or already have osteopenia or osteoporosis, you need to integrate these simple steps into your lifestyle today.
1. Eat a bone-healthy diet. Healthy bones are all about making certain you get enough calcium in your diet. Did you know that 99% of calcium is stored in your bones? The rest you’ll find in soft tissues and blood. Dairy and soy are calcium rich as well as nuts, fish (sardines), fruits (oranges) and leafy greens such as kale and broccoli.
2. Take your calcium supplement. I’d love to think that we can all obtain the necessary amount of calcium from our diets. In this day and age, that’s unrealistic. Most women after the age of 40 need to supplement their diet with calcium. Calcium supplements come in various forms (carbonate, phosphate, citrate). Make certain to read the label (listed under nutrition facts in milligrams) to know how much you’re actually absorbing. Ideally, you’re taking 500 mg of calcium, fortified with Vitamin D, three times a day. Read the label instructions to know whether or not you need to take your supplement with meals. Feel free to switch your supplement if one form gives you any stomach upset.
3. Mind your bone-healthy nutrients. I recommend everyone take a gender and age specific multivitamin. Make sure it’s got the following bone-supporting nutrients and their RDA’s: folate 400mg; manganese 2.3 mg for men and 1.8 mg for women; magnesium 420 mg for men and 320 mg for women; phosphorus 700 mg; Vit C 90 mg for men and 75 mg for women; and zinc 11 mg for men and 8 mg for women.
4. Red alert on Vitamin D. Physicians have recently observed that more of their patients are Vitamin D deficient. I highly recommend that you ask your doctor to check your Vitamin D level. Vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol is essential for the absorption of calcium and bone remodeling. 15 minutes in the sun can help to boost Vit D levels in the body but it’s usually not enough. Top that with the fact that we’re now slathering on sunblock and our Vitamin D levels are plummeting. Our diets are often Vitamin D deficient. Who’s eating liver, egg yolks and butter? We are getting some Vitamin D from fortified cereals, tuna, salmon and mackerel. The current RDA is in the process of being reassessed. Most physicians are recommending a daily intake of 2000 IU. Make sure to supplement your diet with Vitamin D after you’ve been assessed by your medical team.
5. Exercise your bones. Your bones are optimally stimulated to lay down a stronger inner cortex when you are engaged in weight bearing exercise. That means walking, running and water aerobics. Strength training is absolutely imperative to maintain optimal bone strength throughout life. There are plenty of simple exercises you can do gym-free. Check out the exercises in Fit to Live (Rodale) and celebrate how easy staying strong and vertical can be!
6. Stop smoking and drink in moderation. Alcohol reduces the ability of the body to convert Vitamin D to its active form, resulting in decreased calcium absorption. As well, alcohol also increases magnesium excretion, further reducing calcium absorption. Finally, alcohol interferes with the production of estrogen and testosterone, hormones that are integral to bone health. Just remember to drink in moderation. Alarms go off for smokers as well. C’mon, people. Stop smoking now. Smokers are often thinner, sedentary, tend to drink more alcohol and tend not to consume bone healthy diets. No wonder they’re at risk for osteoporosis!
7. Get scanned. If you’re 40 years old, have an initial conversation with your doctor about your personal and family risk factors for osteoporosis. Based upon this dialogue, your physician may recommend a DEXA bone scan to monitor the status of their bones over time. This is also a great segue into the conversation you want to have about bone health in general, so don’t be shy. Let’s get that discussion going as soon as possible.
8. Mind your medications. Osteoporosis has a multitude of causes ranging from poor diet to medical conditions that lead to bone thinning. Based upon the cause, there are a host of medical options from the traditional biphosphonates (e.g. Fosamax and Boniva), to selective estrogen receptor modulators (e.g. Evista), and then to a brand new category of “biologics” such as Amgen’s Prolia which is set to launch in 2011. Make certain that you have a comprehensive assessment and discussion with your physician to help you choose the most appropriate medical therapy.
Courtesy: WebMD.com newsletter
posted by Jacques Girard, Ph.D. at 12:52 PM
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