Bone Health For Women: Effective Tips

Bone Health For Women: Effective Tips

We women, usually end up in ignoring our bone health. We look after everyone in the family but forget to look after ourselves. Many women also believe that bone related problems in women usually doesn’t show up before one is in their 50’s, so before that you actually don’t need to worry. This is actually wrong! 90% of bone growth takes place by the time you are 25 and reaches it peak when you are 30. After that although bone remodelling continues, you end up in losing more bone mass than you gain. On an average, our body requires 1000mg of Calcium everyday till the age of 19 to 50 years old. Some women who are lactose intolerant may also require 1200mg of calcium everyday!

Lahar, mother of an 8 year old says, “When I turned 35, I started feeling aches and pains. My doctor then advised me to take a calcium and Vitamin D rich diet. I was shocked to know my bone density had already started deteriorating!”

Also read: Foods For Baby’s Strong Bones

To help maintain good bone health, one must also be aware about our bone structure and functions. The human body has 206 bones of which 54 bones are on our hands, fingers and wrists. Your bones play many vital roles in your body like – protects organs, provides structure, anchors muscles. It also stores and regulates minerals to help your entire body function. So we can see that our bones play a very crucial part in our day to day functioning. Thus taking care of our bone health also becomes important. But before knowing how to take care of our bone health, it would help us to know the factors that affect bone health! Let’s see some below.

6 Factors Affecting Bone Health In Women

#1. Calcium And Vitamin D

These 2 nutrients are very essential for healthy maintenance of your bones. While calcium is important for growth, development and maintaining good bone health, Vitamin D helps the body to absorb the calcium. So, your daily diet must include foods rich in calcium like milk, tofu, paneer, curd and lassi. Also if you think your body is not getting sufficient calcium from your diet, you can speak to your doctor about it. Like calcium, natural sources of Vitamin D would be Cheese, Egg Yolk, Orange Juice, Soy Milk and Cereals.

#2. Hormone Levels

Too much thyroid hormone can cause bone loss. In women, bone loss increases dramatically at menopause due to dropping levels of estrogen. Although women are more at risk of bone loss, even men are susceptible to bone loss due to low testosterone levels. Osteoporosis is a bone disease in which bones become thin, fragile and more susceptible to breakage. Research says women can lose more than 20% of their bone density in the next 5 years after menopause.

#3. Pregnancy And Breastfeeding

Usually women become conscious about bone health only after they reach the age of 50. But it’s a fact that after 25 years of age , a woman should be looking after her bone health. Also although bone health might not be the first thing on the mind of a pregnant or breastfeeding woman, the body has a huge need for calcium during the same. The growing baby takes all its nutritional requirements from its mother, including calcium. If the mother doesn’t eat a calcium and Vitamin D rich diet or take supplements, then she would be losing 10% of her bone health.

#4. Physical Activity

If you are physically active then there are lower chances of you developing bone diseases like Osteoporosis in the future, than if you are physically inactive. Physical activities like walking, jogging, climbing stairs, helps make bones strong and slow down the bone loss process.

Also read: The Main Causes And Solutions Of Calcium Deficiency In A New Mom

#5. Tobacco And Alcohol

Research suggests both tobacco and alcohol consumption contributes to weak bones. If you are a woman you should definitely quit smoking to save your bone health. Also when it comes to alcoholic drinks, more than 1 drink a day for women will increase chances of osteoporosis.

#6. Size

If you are very thin or have a very small and tiny frame, you are more at risk to bone health diseases like Osteoporosis, because your body has less bone mass to draw calcium from. So if you are thin or have a small frame, you have to ensure that you are taking sufficient amount of calcium and Vitamin D to ensure good bone health.

Now that we are aware about the factors that affect bone health, let us know about the ways in which we can improve our bone health, early on, so that we can prevent major complications later.

5 Tips For Healthy Bones

#1. Eat Lots Of Vegetables

Vegetables are a rich source of Vitamin C, which stimulates production of bone forming cells. Also green vegetables are also known to help with bone mineralisation.

#2. Perform Strength Training Exercises

Strength training is very helpful in cases like knee or hip arthritis or any other type of joint pain. Strength training exercises include squats, push ups and walking lunges.

#3. Add Vitamin D To Your Day

Sunshine is the best source of Vitamin D. If you can get 15 to 20 minutes of sunshine everyday, then you body gets sufficient amounts of Vitamin D, which helps absorb the calcium and phosphates by your body.

#4. Avoid Smoking And Drinking

Loss of bone mineral density is associated with tobacco use and excessive alcohol consumption. So for good bone health, tobacco should be avoided altogether while alchohol consumption should not exceed more than 1 peg a day.

Also read: Importance Of Calcium During Pregnancy

#5. Get Your Bone Density Tested

A simple test known as the DXA can be conducted by the doctors. It’s a painless and simple test whereby via X- Ray, bone health is gauged. The test measures bone mineral density and helps determine risk of Osteoporosis and fracture.

So, it’s very clear that bones need care and looking after to avoid bone thinning and susceptibility to fractures in the future. Just like a stitch in time helps nine, same way, ensuring good bone health today can prevent major bone related issues in future.

So at the end of it all, taking care of your bones are an absolute must. Still if you are concerned about your bone health or risk factors for Osteoporosis, do consult a doctor, who might gauge your bone density with the help of a bone density test, thereby enabling you to look after your bones, better.

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