Protect our bones as we age
Some tips to protect our bones as we age:
The protect our bones and our skeleton requires changes in our habits, particularly through diet and sport. The skeleton wears out with age and osteoporosis is a skeletal condition that needs to be closely monitored.
Bone mass is a capital to be maintained:
Bone is constantly undergoing a process of renewal and repair, which is called bone remodeling.
Thanks to certain hormones and proteins, old bone cells are eliminated while new ones appear in the same place.
Remodeling loses its effectiveness with aging, resulting in bone fragility that progresses with age, in both women and men.
However, the male skeleton is less fragile than that of women.
In fact, hormonal changes related to aging are earlier in women (50-52 years), whereas they begin around 65-70 years in men.
Factors related to the decrease in bone density:
With age, everyone sees their bone density decrease, but without necessarily causing osteoporosis this diffuse fragility of bones due to demineralization.
This disease is characterized by a significant decrease in bone density and disturbances of their internal architecture.
Less resistant, the bones are then more exposed to fractures (neck of the femur, wrist, vertebrae, etc.) This pathology is the cause of fractures.
Osteoporosis is favored by a deficit in calcium, phosphorus or vitamin D.
This fragility of the bones, observed especially after the menopause, occurs in 40% of women. 15% of men over 50 are affected by osteoporosis.
Women are particularly affected because of a lack of estrogen during menopause.
But these sex hormones participate in the phenomenon of bone remodeling and protects our bones by slowing the degradation of bone tissue and promoting the formation of young bones
Other identified causes:
Family and hormonal factors can intervene. Hormonal insufficiency that occurs at menopause is a risk factor, but does not explain everything. Some women will lose 1.2% of their bone mass each year, while others will see it drop by 15%. Some women may lose 3 percent of their bone mass per year for 10 years and then stabilize.
Other factors may be involved, such as digestive problems, prolonged treatment with corticosteroids or poorly controlled thyroid insufficiency.
How to strengthen and protects our bones ?
It is during the first twenty years of life that we build a solid bone mass. It is therefore essential to take preventive action to maintain this precious capital.
From an early age, encourage your child to go outside, run, jump and eat well to have strong bones! It is a way to protect our bones and strengthen them
Ban tobacco & alcohol:
Tobacco and alcohol are two risk factors, think about stopping their consumption.
Eat calcium-rich foods:
Bone is made up mostly of calcium and phosphate.
The consumption of 1200mg per day is recommended, but 800mg can be enough for many of us.
Dairy products are classically associated with calcium, but this mineral is found in large quantities in many other foods: cruciferous vegetables (leeks, kale, spinach, arugula and watercress), certain mineral waters, seafood and nuts.
Green leafy vegetables are the foods richest in calcium if we refer to the portion consumed during a meal: a 200 g portion of leek contains 504 mg of calcium, while a 30 g portion of parmesan or Grana Padano (cheeses richest in calcium) contains 350 mg of calcium.
Fish, an 80 g portion of sardines contains 368 mg of calcium and 100 g of salmon contains 270 g.
White beans and almonds are also rich in calcium.
Don’t neglect protein:
Medical studies have found that the higher the protein intake, the higher the bone mass. The elderly must therefore be vigilant in their intake of vegetable and animal proteins for the strength of their bones.
Physical activity for your body:
As we age, physical activity becomes more and more valuable. Keep in shape to continue building your bones. For women, sport is beneficial before menopause to have a better starting stock and then to prevent the risk of fracture.
Choose disciplines where the skeleton supports the weight of the body : cycling, walking, weight training, aquagym and swimming.
You can also practice Nordic walking, which mobilizes the muscles of the entire body and promotes the calcification of the bone. You can find a sports club that you want.
Strengthened & Protects our bones with vitamin D:
The benefit to bone of vitamin D supplementation is demonstrated after age 65. But specialists believe that it is useful as early as 50 years old.
Make a habit of going outside and exposing yourself to direct sunlight for 15 minutes of exposure per day is enough to synthesize vitamin D.
Some recommendations to refine with your doctor :
– after a fracture, treatment of osteoporosis is essential;
– the vitamin D supplementation is not done once a year with a high dose, but in three times with lower doses (100,000 units during the three winter months);
– if osteoporosis is severe, correction of vitamin D and calcium deficiencies is part of the treatment, but it is not sufficient;
– Calcium supplementation is decided after assessing dietary intake.
How to fix calcium on the bone?
Bilberry buds (a shrub related to the blueberry) facilitate the assimilation of calcium, blackcurrant buds consolidate the bone and are anti-inflammatory. Alternate bilberry and blackcurrant: you can take a 21-day course of bilberry buds, stop for 7 days and then resume blackcurrant buds.
Plants to fix calcium:
– Horsetail, rich in silicic acid and saponin, helps bone tissue to remineralize. Also exists in capsule form.
– Bamboo encourages the production of collagen which facilitates the reconstruction of cartilage.
– Nettle is remineralizing. You can consume it in soup, as an infusion or in capsules.
– Lithothamnion is an important alga in the acid-base balance. It prevents bone demineralization and allows the skeleton to maintain a good density.
