Providing structure, protection, anchoring muscles, and calcium storage are just a few of the functions of bones.

We all require strong bones to help us stay upright and on our feet. Healthy bones protect our vital organs and serve as a repository for the nutrients and minerals that keep us alive. Individuals with poor bone health are more likely to experience pain and fractures, which can lead to other serious physical conditions such as limited mobility.

Your bones are a living part of your body that are flexible despite their strength. They can heal themselves when broken and are constantly renewed by your body. Your bones are constantly changing, with new bone being formed and old bone being broken down. When you’re young, your body produces new bone faster than it degrades old bone, so your bone mass increases. Around the age of 30, most people reach their peak bone mass. Following that, “bone remodelling” (also known as bone renewal) continues, but you lose slightly more bone mass than you gain.

What is the Significance of Bone Health?

Bone health is important because your bones support your body, aid in movement, and protect sensitive organs such as your brain, heart and lungs.

But why does bone health matter?

Strong bones not only provide strength, balance, and support for your body, but they also allow for better posture, which improves your appearance and makes you look and feel younger. Strong bones allow you to participate in social activities such as dancing as well as sports such as golf and tennis. Strong bones help you get through long days at work, no matter how tired your body is.

You couldn’t enjoy playing, running, leaping, climbing, tumbling, and even daily activities without strong bones. Extremely poor bone density will also make a person inactive and immobile.

Poor Bone Health & Injury

As you get older, your bone strength gradually declines, which can lead to osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a chronic (long-term) disease in which your bones become depleted of minerals such as calcium.

In addition, it will make you more susceptible to breaks and fractures, and limit your physical activity. A loss of activity can cause you to gain weight. It can also increase stress on your bones, in particular your knees and hips. Gaining weight can also increase your risk of other problems, such as heart disease and diabetes.

How likely you are to develop osteoporosis — a condition that causes bones to become weak and brittle — depends on how much bone mass you attain by the time you reach age 30 and how rapidly you lose it after that. The higher your peak bone mass, the more bone you have “in the bank” and the less likely you are to develop osteoporosis as you age.

Who is at Risk?

Osteoporosis (A condition in which bones become weak and brittle) is more common in women, but men are also at risk.

People at greatest risk for osteoporosis include:

• Caucasian women
• Asian women
• Post-menopausal women
• Have a family history of osteoporosis
• People who have had illnesses or been on medications that can weaken their bones
• Underweight people
• People who have HIV, diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis.

What other factors have an impact on bone health?

• Age – As you get older, your chances of developing osteoporosis increase.
• Gender – Women are more likely than men to develop osteoporosis. Because of hormonal changes that occur after menopause, women have smaller bones than men and lose bone faster.
• Nutrition – An insufficient intake of bone-building nutrients increases the risk of bone loss and subsequent osteoporosis. The formation of bones requires a constant supply of nutrients such as calcium, protein, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin D, potassium, and fluoride.
• Physical activity – Physically inactive people have a higher risk of osteoporosis than those who are physically active.
• Tobacco and alcohol use – Tobacco use contributes to bone weakness. Similarly, more than one alcoholic drink per day for women or two alcoholic drinks per day for men may increase the risk of osteoporosis.
• Hormone levels – Excess thyroid hormone can lead to bone loss. Because oestrogen levels drop during menopause, bone loss in women increases dramatically. The absence of menstruation (amenorrhea) before menopause raises the risk of osteoporosis. Low testosterone levels in men can result in bone mass loss.
• Eating disorders and other medical issues – Food restriction and being underweight both weaken bones in men and women. Furthermore, weight loss surgery and conditions like celiac disease can impair your body’s ability to absorb calcium.
• Certain Medications – Long-term use of corticosteroid medications such as cortisone, prednisone, prednisolone, and dexamethasone is harmful to bone. Other drugs that may increase the risk of osteoporosis include breast cancer inhibitors, some anti-seizure medications, and proton pump inhibitors.

How to Measure Your Bone Health?

To determine the density and mineral content of the bone, a Bone Density Test is used. The hip or spine’s bone density can be assessed using X-rays, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA or DXA), or a specialised CT scan that employs computer software. The DEXA scan is regarded as the “gold standard” or most precise test for a number of reasons.

The amount of calcium and minerals in a particular area of your bone is measured using X-rays. The more minerals you have, the better. This means your bones are stronger, denser, and less prone to fracture. The lower your mineral content, the more likely you are to break a bone in a fall. A bone density test determines the mineral density of the bone (BMD). Your BMD is compared to two norms: healthy young adults (your T-score) and adults your age (your Z-score).

First, your BMD is compared to the BMDs of healthy 25- to 35-year-old adults of your gender and ethnicity. The standard deviation (SD) is the difference in BMD between you and healthy young adults.

This figure represents your T-score:

• Positive T-scores indicate that the bone is stronger than normal
• Negative T-scores indicate that the bone is weaker.

Second, your BMD is compared to an age-appropriate norm. This is known as your Z-score. Z-scores are calculated in the same way, but they are compared to people your age, gender, race, height, and weight.

In addition to bone densitometry testing, your healthcare provider may recommend blood tests to detect kidney disease, evaluate the function of the parathyroid gland, assess the effects of cortisol therapy, and/or assess the levels of minerals in the body related to bone strength, such as calcium.

5 Natural Ways to Build Healthy Bones

1. Physical Activity

Participating in certain types of exercise can help you build and maintain healthy bones.

Weight-bearing or high-impact exercise is one of the best types of activity for bone health. Weight-bearing and resistance training exercises can help older adults, including those with low bone density, increase bone formation during bone growth and protect bone health.

A study of older men and women who did weight-bearing exercises found that they had higher bone mineral density, bone strength, and bone size, as well as lower markers of bone turnover and inflammation.

Strength-training exercises are beneficial for more than just increasing muscle mass. It may also aid in the prevention of bone loss in both young and old women, including those with osteoporosis, osteopenia, or breast cancer.

2. Increasing your Calcium Intake

Calcium is the most important mineral for bone health and the most abundant mineral in your bones. Because old bone cells are constantly being broken down and replaced by new ones, it is critical to consume calcium daily in order to protect bone structure and strength.

The RDI for calcium is 1,000 mg per day for most people, but teens need 1,300 mg and older women need 1,200 mg.

But how much calcium your body actually absorbs varies a lot. Surprisingly, if you consume more than 500 mg of calcium in one meal, your body absorbs much less of it than if you consume less. As a result, it’s best to distribute your calcium intake throughout the day by eating one high-calcium food from this list at each meal. It is also preferable to obtain calcium from foods rather than supplements.

3. Get Your Daily Dose of Vitamin D and Vitamin K

Vitamins D and K are critical for the development of strong bones.

Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium, which is important for bone health. To protect against osteopenia and osteoporosis. Unfortunately, vitamin D deficiency is very common, affecting approximately one billion people worldwide.

A study found that children and adults with low vitamin D levels have lower bone density and are more likely to experience bone loss than those who get enough.

You might be able to get enough vitamin D from the sun and foods like fatty fish, liver, and cheese. Many people, however, require up to 2,000 IU of vitamin D daily to maintain optimal levels.

Vitamin K2 promotes bone health by altering osteocalcin, a protein that aids in bone formation. This modification allows osteocalcin to bind to minerals in bones, preventing calcium loss from bones.

A study found that taking either form of vitamin K2 helps to modify osteocalcin and increases bone density in children and postmenopausal women.

4. Include Magnesium and Zinc-Rich Foods

Calcium isn’t the only mineral necessary for bone health. Others, such as magnesium and zinc, also play a role. Magnesium and zinc are essential for reaching peak bone mass during childhood and maintaining bone density as we age.

Magnesium is essential for the conversion of vitamin D into an active form that promotes calcium absorption. Although magnesium is present in trace amounts in most foods, there are only a few high-quality sources. Magnesium glycinate, citrate, or carbonate supplements may be beneficial.

Zinc is a trace mineral that is only required in trace amounts. It contributes to the mineral content of your bones. Furthermore, zinc promotes the formation of bone-building cells and prevents excessive bone breakdown. Zinc-rich foods include beef, shrimp, spinach, flaxseeds, oysters, and pumpkin seeds. Zinc supplements have been shown in studies to support bone growth in children and bone density maintenance in older adults.

5. Get Enough Protein

Protein consumption is critical for bone health. In fact, protein accounts for roughly half of bone mass.

According to a study, a low protein diet reduces calcium absorption and may also affect bone formation and breakdown rates. Concerns have been raised, however, that high-protein diets leach calcium from bones to compensate for increased acidity in the blood.

Nonetheless, other research has shown that people who consume up to 100 gm of protein per day, as long as it is balanced with plenty of plant foods and adequate calcium intake, do not experience this.

Furthermore, diets with a higher percentage of protein calories may help maintain bone mass during weight loss.

To Wrap Up

Bone health is essential at every stage of life. Genetics, nutrition, exercise, and hormonal loss all have an impact on our bones as we age. We cannot change our genes, but we can control our diet and level of activity.

Depending on how we care for our bones, they can become stronger or weaker over time. However, having strong bones is something that many people take for granted because symptoms often do not appear until bone loss has progressed.

Fortunately, many nutrition and lifestyle habits can help build and maintain strong bones —- and you are never too old or too young to improve your bone health.

-Written & Edited by

Tanya Kathuria & Simran Sood