You might not believe it, but you have to work hard for healthy bones. Time is not on your side. Bones weaken with age, and this can lead to serious conditions like osteopenia and osteoporosis.
It may seem strange, but your body is naturally inclined to lose bone as you get older. It’s your job to make sure you do what you can to keep it hanging around. If you don’t, you’re at an increased risk for bone breaks.
Getting adequate vitamin D and calcium is essential to maintaining strong, healthy bone and limiting bone loss. But they can only take you so far.
You see, calcium and vitamin D can stop bone loss by helping bone to rebuild. However, you need to give your body a reason—let’s call it encouragement—to build bone.
Think of it like muscle: if you don’t use it, you lose it.
Exercise gives your body encouragement to build bone. It puts stress on the bone so it becomes stronger.
Walking, jogging, hiking, resistance training, and more all make your body work against gravity to retain bone or make it stronger. These weight-bearing movements can stimulate bone production and potentially reduce the risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis.
Stronger muscles are an added benefit to your bones. They can help improve balance and make bones more resilient to bumps.
Core strength is another essential component of bone health. Abdominal exercises, lower back exercises, yoga, Pilates, and tai-chi can be useful in strengthening the spine, which is prone to fractures and encouraging better balance.
If you can, get 30 minutes of weight-bearing exercise five times per week. You can switch it up, perhaps going for a walk on three days and doing tai chi, or another exercise, the remaining two days.
Maintaining bone strength can help you hold onto your livelihood and ultimately make life a little safer. Use these exercise ideas to bolster bone-healthy nutrition.