5 Ways To Support Healthy Bones With Diet

From our mid-thirties onwards we are at risk of bone density loss. Women, because of menopause and the depletion of bone protecting oestrogen are at greater risk.  Diet and exercise play an important role in supporting our bone health.  We looked at exercise last week, let’s take a look at how our diet can help us.

1. Calcium is usually the first nutrient that springs to mind when we mention healthy bones, so let’s start there.   We usually associate calcium with dairy.  Whole milk probiotic yogurt is one of the best dairy calcium sources and beneficial for our gut health, with regards to cheese – the harder the cheese, the better the calcium content. Non-dairy sources of calcium include brown rice, kale (also a great source of magnesium), bok choy, chard, cabbage, broccoli, white beans, chickpeas, almonds, sesame seeds, anchovies, sardines, figs.  Phew.

2. Vitamin D – we need this to absorb calcium.  Vitamin D comes from sunshine, oily fish (e.g. salmon, mackerel, trout herrings), eggs, red meat and fortified foods and drinks.  In countries where we don’t get enough sunshine e.g Ireland, it is widely recommended to supplement with Vitamin D from September to May.  (Check with medical/nutrition professional about dosage.)

3. Protein! Usually associated with muscle growth and maintenance, this macronutient is a major structural component of all cells including bone cells, and gives bones its strength and flexibility.  You will find protein in meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, tofu, tempeh, soya/edemame beans, spirulina and quinoa.

4. More micronutrients for bone health include;
   Vitamin K – leafy greens, liver, some fermented cheeses and soya bean products.
   Magnesium – green veggies, nuts, seeds, unrefined grains (e.g. quinoa)`
   Zinc – lean red meat, poultry, whole grain cereals and zinc.

5. Lastly, caffeine, alcohol, fizzy drinks and sodium can all inhibit the absorption of calcium and are therefore in excess, they are not good for our bone health.

 Stay healthy peeps! 

How To Support Your Bone Health With Exercise

From 35 onwards, we start to lose more bone than we make. Yikes

Throw menopause into the mix, and the depletion of the bone protecting hormone oestrogen means women are more at risk of osteoporosis. Therefore it is vital that we support our bone health with exercise and diet and the earlier we get going, the better.

Bone is a living, growing tissue and responds to stimulus. The muscles contracting create a stress on the bones which stimulates new bone formation.

So what exercises work best?

Weight-bearing Exercise
These are exercises where we are working against gravity. They can be divided into high impact e.g. plyometric moves (jumping), running , playing tennis , skipping.
Low impact, e.g. hiking (add poles for upper body workout), dancing , stair walking. Or no impact – yoga , Pilates, tai chi – where we are using body strength – think standing poses, arm balances, planks, push up variations.

Resistance / Strength Training
This is where we are pushing or pulling against a force.

Weights - Everyone can work out with weights and you don’t even have to go to a gym. If you don’t have dumbbells / kettlebells at home, you can improvise - tins of beans, bottles of water, a bag of spuds can be used.

Dynabands – I love these rubberbandits. They are really versatile, and can provide a full body workout including flexibility and mobility as well as strength..

Suspension Training e.g. TRX You can hang it off a tree or out of a door and it is fantastic for an all over body workout.

Reformer Pilates – what’s not to love? Again another excellent system for creating an all over body workout working against resistance with a focus on core strength.

Tune in next week for ‘Nutrition to Support our Bone Health’.

Your Secret Weapon for Healthy Bones

Happy World Osteoporosis Day!  Happy in that it’s raising awareness, and that’s a good thing.  Worldwide, Osteoporosis affects one in three women and one in five men over the age of fifty, but it’s not exclusive to the over 50s.  Known as a ‘silent disease’, oftentimes people are unaware of their bone density loss until they suffer a fracture. 

Throughout childhood dem bones dem bones really do need calcium as well as vitamin D to help us absorb it, enabling us to reach peak bone density by the age of 25 – 30. These micronutrients are essential for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis as is weight-bearing exercise. From the macronutrient family, protein is an important body cell reparation and builder.  Other bone friendly nutrients include vitamin K, manganese and potassium all of which are contained with within prunes.

Let's shine the spotlight on prunes...When I think of prunes I think of that big bowl in the hotel buffet, which people under the age of not-caring avoid like the plague as helping yourself to a bowl of them would be the equivalent of standing on a chair and shouting ‘I have an announcement to make – I am constipated!’.

Digestive system benefits aside, prunes are becoming known for their bone building benefits. For the last twenty years, Dr. Bahram H. Arjmandi has been at the forefront of research into prunes or ‘dried plums’ as he calls them (I see where you’re going here doc - nice try).  Chairman of the Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences at Florida State University, his studies show that in conjunction with sufficient calcium and vitamin D, may help prevent and even reverse bone loss.

He claims that during his career he has tested numerous fruits and none of them have come close to having the positive effect on bone density that prunes have.  In 2011, over a twelve month period two groups of osteopenic (precursor to osteoporosis) women were studied. Along with calcium and vitamin D supplements, one group consumed 100g of prunes per day while the other consumed 75g of dried apple a day. The prune ladies after a year had ‘significantly’ higher bone mineral density compared to the dried apple ladies.

While the original the recommendation was to consume 10 – 12 prunes a day, following a further study, this has been revised down to the more achievable 5 – 6 prunes.  Channel 4’s ‘Superfoods: The Real Story’ recently included a feature on prunes and an interview with Dr. Arjmandi. They also revealed that prunes are highly recommended for astronauts who suffer bone loss due to floating around space stations for six or so months at a time.  Now that’s a bit more sexy.

Where do you find all these bone friendly nutrients?

Calcium – milk, cheese, yogurt, spinach, kale, collards, soya beans, whitebeans, tinned salmon, sardines, figs, whey protein, fortified cereals.

Vitamin D – sunshine! Tuna, mackerel, salmon, fortified foods and drinks, egg yolks. In countries that get a little less sunshine a Vitamin D supplement is recommended.

Protein – eggs, fish, chicken, beef (ideally go for lean), turkey, dairy products, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, tofu, quinoa, soya, spinach.

Vitamin K – spinach, cabbage, brussel sprouts,cauliflower, kale, liver, asparagus, broccoli, beans, soya beans, eggs, strawberries, prunes.

Manganese – beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, unrefined grains, prunes.

Weight-bearing exercise can include walking, hiking, running, body weight exercises, weight training, training with dynabands and general muscle strengthening exercises including Pilates. If you do have osteoporosis however and are attending a fitness class or a gym, it’s important to let the instructor know so they can offer you advice on modifications.