As people age, their bone health typically declines with women being more impacted than men. This decline is gradual over many years so taking steps to prevent it and building strong bones should be undertaken early in life. A typical response for bone building seems to be “add calcium supplements”, however as with everything else about the human body, the answer is not that simple.
You need adequate protein. Every part of the body is built from protein so that if your level is deficient, you may actually be losing the protein matrix you already have in your bones and muscles. Standard dietary guidelines of 0.8 grams per kilogram of your weight are too low. They are a minimum for living. To grow and preserve muscle and bone as an older adult you need 1.5 - 2 grams per kilogram. So, a 70 Kg woman needs 105 to 140 grams of protein per day. Your body cannot store protein between meals, so you must eat protein with every meal and you need about 25 grams minimum per meal to stimulate muscle synthesis. Plant foods have only about 40% of the protein bioavailability of animal foods.
Bone is continually remodeling based on many factors including diet, exercise and strength demands. To build bone you need to create osteoblasts from protein, calcium, vitamin A, magnesium, boron, vitamin D and vitamin K2. These together strengthen existing bones by becoming new more dense bone cells.
Calcium is critical, but it doesn’t just magically head for areas that need bone growth. Without the other building elements or, if taken in excess, can end up in soft tissue such as blood vessel walls where it can harden arteries and increase cardio vascular disease (CVD) risk.
Vitamin D must be available and the best source is sunlight on the skin. Get outside, without sunscreen, when your shadow is longer than your height and soak it up. You will also be building up nitric oxide stores. If supplementing use vitamin D3.
Where to get vitamin A. Beware foods claiming vitamin A but really only having beta-carotene. Beta-carotene (sometimes called ‘provitamin A’ to further confuse you) is not vitamin A. Your body has to convert this to vitamin A and the process can be very inefficient. Best sources of real vitamin A include cow’s milk, cheese, eggs and oily fish.
A critical but poorly understood element in the bone building is vitamin K2 (not Vitamin K1 which assists blood clotting and comes from plants). Vitamin K2 comes from animal-based food and is necessary to direct the calcium towards bone. See my blog https://www.takebackyrhealth.com/post/how-grass-finished-beef-reduces-heart-disease-risk
Boron comes from apples, peaches, oranges, broccoli, nuts, eggs, greens, beans and avocado while magnesium comes from meats, fish, dairy, chicken, beef, seeds, peanuts, beans and dark chocolate.
Get free nutrition guidance or my book at www.takebackyrhealth.com. Seek professional medical advice before dietary changes, particularly if on medication. George Elder, Health Coach, Diploma in Nutrition. “The best thing you can do for your health is eat better”.
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