Keep Your Bones Strong
Bone health is important. In our youth, the body makes new bone faster that it breaks down old bone, so your bone mass increases. As you grow older, you lose slightly more bones than you gain.
Factors that Affect Bone Health
- Race, frame size and family history.
- Hormone levels.
- Physical activity level.
- The amount of calcium in your diet.
- Gender.
- Excessive alcohol consumption and tobacco use.
- Eating disorders and other diseases.
- Age.
- Medications
How to Keep Your Bones Healthy
- Eat high-calcium foods. Dairy products such as milk, cheese, and yogurt are good sources of calcium. The recommended daily dosage of calcium is 1,000 milligrams and increases as we age.
- Get a lot of vitamin D.
- You can get this vitamin with healthy sunlight exposure. Other sources are oily fish like tuna and sardines as well as egg yolks, fortified milk, or vitamin D supplements.
- Avoid excess protein and sodium.
- Avoid smoking and limit alcoholic drinks to two glasses a day.
- Take bone-boosting medications.
- Exercise, or at least include physical activity in your daily routine.
- When exercising, change your routine often to surprise your body.
- Play sports if you don’t like going to the gym. Sports provide great exercise for your body as well as the impact needed for bone growth.
It’s not too late to take care of your bones. Starting as soon as possible will surely help prevent future bone loss such as osteoporosis or any other bone diseases.