As you age, bone health becomes more of a concern, especially for women, but men aren’t exempt from weakening bones. Changing your diet and your lifestyle can be the simple solution to better bone health. Cutting back on salt and caffeine are a quick and easy way to start. Altering your snack regimen to include bone health foods can also help. Adding nutritional supplements and doing daily exercises are also ways to boost your bone health. Here’s how to boost your bone health.
Tips for Top Bone Health
The process to keep your bones in tip-top shape begins with a healthy eating plan and regular exercise.
Cutting Back
Let’s begin with the areas where you need to cut back to protect your bones. You don’t have to completely eliminate these items from your diet, but limiting them can make a big difference in your bone health.
- Salt
- Caffeine (three beverages or less daily)
- Alcohol (two drinks or less daily)
It’s also a good idea to discuss with your doctor any medications you may be taking that can harmfully impact your bone health. Your physician may offer further recommendations or alternatives to keep your bones healthy and strong.
Adding On
For bone building health, you need to add on to get the required vitamins and minerals important for your bones. Vitamin D and Calcium are the most important. You can, of course, take supplements to get the needed amounts, but even better is adding these foods to your diet.
For adding calcium:
- Dairy Products including milk, cheese, and yogurt
- Almonds
- Oranges
- Dark, Leafy Greens
- Salmon
- Sardines
- Black-eyed Peas.
For Adding vitamin D, getting your daily dose of sunshine is the best route, but increasing your intake of these foods can also help:
- Tuna
- Salmon
- Mackerel
- Shiitake Mushrooms
- Beef Liver
- Eggs (yolks, in particular)
- Foods that have been fortified with vitamin D like nut milks, soy milk, and orange juice.
And for adding other bone boosting vitamins and minerals:
- Prunes (antioxidants, vitamin K, potassium, magnesium)
- Spinach, Kale, and other greens (vitamin K)
- Nuts, fish, seeds, oats, and beans (magnesium)
- Citrus fruits, brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale, and peppers (vitamin C)
- Tomatoes, fish, beans, and root veggies (potassium)
Exercising
Increasing your heart rate along with strength training is the perfect combination to strengthen your bones. Before you begin any new exercise routine, always check with your physician to make sure it is a safe option for you. With his or her okay, try including these in your daily regimen:
- Walking (you can even add ankle weights to increase the level of your workout)
- Dancing
- Running
- Strength training with light weights or exercise bands
- Pilates
- Yoga
- Weight bearing activities like gardening.
Seeing Your Doctor
Regular check-ups with your doctor are an important part of maintaining your bone health. Your doctor can perform test to determine your bone health and help you decide the best way to enhance your bone health. Using a special type of x-ray known as a bone density test, the doctor can determine the density of your bones. In addition, a FRAX test provides an evaluation of your risk factors and your propensity of having a broken bone in the coming 10 years. With these tests and other assessments, your doctor can advise you on tailored practices to keep your bones health and strong well into the future. Following your doctor’s recommendations and being proactive is the first step to boosting your bone health.
