When you age, you notice the impacts of someone playing sports, working on your bones and joints. With time, your bones lose their density and get weaker, increasing the risk of breaks and fractures. Food, gut health and exercise plays a major role in maintaining healthy bones and preventing conditions like osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.
Bones are considered banks where you deposit and withdraw bone tissue. When you grow, you deposit new bones to your skeleton and the old ones are withdrawn but as you reach 40, bone withdrawals get quicker than deposits cause conditions like osteoporosis. In order to maintain the bone density, you need to include supplements like calcium and Vitamin D or testosterone for better absorption.
How to maintain healthy bones?
Your diet has a major role in looking after your bones and joints. Hence to have a healthy weight and regulated glucose levels, you should consume a diet which is rich in calcium, magnesium, Vitamin D, E and K2. Food items like cereals, broccoli, spinach, salmon, sardines, yoghurt, nuts and seeds and other daily products are rich in calcium.
If you notice any inflammation, swelling or pain, add garlic, ginger, olives and turmeric to your meal. Start your day with a hot water lemon drink.
Secondly, the health of your gut is important for healthy bones and joints. The gut has a major effect on bones as calcium and other minerals should be effectively absorbed to reach your bones. For healthy bones and joints, your digestion should be just right, neither too fast nor too slow.
Your body needs Vitamin D to absorb calcium from the gut. It can be made from sunlight or from supplements. Getting too much out in the sun may increase the risk of skin diseases and cancer. Hence, you should use Vitamin D supplements for it. You can order it from a website. NZ Online Chemist is a reliable website to order Vitamin D and Calcium supplements in New Zealand and get them delivered at your doorsteps.
Lastly, your daily activities play a vital role in the prevention of bone diseases and management of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. You should spend around 30 minutes daily in weight bearing and resistance exercises. This will not just make your bones stronger as they bear weight during exercise but will also increase your stamina. Jogging, running and tennis are good examples of weight bearing exercises.
You can also draft a weight program at home and begin with light weights which you can easily lift and then increase the weights gradually. Softer exercises such as walking, swimming or tai chi are recommended for osteoarthritis. It will help in strengthening your muscles to safeguard the joints and enhance movement.
If your dietary intake is low, then you should consume supplements to fulfill the deficiencies. You can ask for a blood test from your doctor to check your Vitamin D, calcium and hormone levels or also go for a bone density scan. Any of the problems can be dealt with the right supplements and anti-inflammatory medications.