I had one of those reality check moments the other day when my inquisitive younger child pondered on why granny seemed to be shrinking – we got on to the discussion of bone health, osteoporosis and why it happens – after giving her the benefit of my wisdom around this subject, she kindly pointed out that surely I was of an age where I should be doing something to support my bone health then and more to the point – why wasn’t I..? She is a canny one – and she had a point!
Over 3 million people in the UK are living with osteoporosis. Bone is living tissue that is constantly being broken down and replaced. Osteoporosis occurs when the creation of new bone doesn’t keep up with the loss of old bone.
White and Asian people have a higher risk of osteoporosis and broken bones than people of other ethnicities. Women tend to have a higher risk than men – we have smaller bones and lose bone more quickly for a few years around the time of menopause. This is because our ovaries stop producing as much oestrogen which helps keep bones strong.
Diet and exercise along with lifestyle modifications are key to supporting bone health.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is essential for healthy bones and muscles. It helps the body absorb and use calcium which gives bones their strength and hardness. You can get vitamin D from sunlight, food and supplements. In the UK, your skin can only get vitamin D from sunlight between March and September, it is recommended that you expose your skin to direct sunlight for approximately 10 minutes once or twice per day. From the end of September to the beginning of April, experts recommend that you should consider taking a daily 10 microgram (400 units) vitamin D supplement. There is a small amount of vitamin D in some foods, but it is difficult to get enough from food only.
Calcium
Calcium is essential for strong bones – most adults should aim to consume 700mg of calcium a day. Calcium can be found in dairy products, green leafy vegetables, almonds, dried fruits and calcium boosted soya products.
Smoking
Smoking slows down the activity of cells that builds bones and increases the risk of breaking bones. If you are an ex-smoker, the risk of breaking bones will have dropped since giving up.
Regularly drinking
Regularly drinking more than 14 units of alcohol a week can increase the risk of osteoporosis.
Exercise
Exercise is effective at keeping bones strong when combining weight-bearing exercise with impact and muscle strengthening exercises. Weight bearing movement causes your muscles to pull on your bones and this causes bones to renew themselves and get stronger. As your muscles get stronger, they pull harder meaning that your bones are more likely to become even stronger.
Aim for 50 minutes of moderate impact weight bearing exercise such as jumping; skipping; jogging; dancing, on most days.
To strengthen the muscles, you need to move them against resistance by adding load for the muscles to work against, such as a handheld weight, elastic resistance bands or your own body weight e.g., press ups. Aim for 2 – 3 days each week on non-consecutive days for 20 – 30 minutes targeting legs, arms and your spine.
So, when the sun eventually appears, I will be in the garden – flesh exposed and skipping!
