Surprising ways to build up your bone density
GLUGGING GLASSES OF MILK IS CERTAINLY NOT THE ONLY WAY TO MAINTAIN STRONG, HEALTHY BONES, ALTHOUGH IT HELPS, SAM WYLIE-HARRIS LEARNS
IT’S estimated almost three million people in the UK have osteoporosis with over half a million of them receiving hospital treatment for factures related to fragile bones every year.
The condition means bones become weaker, making them more prone to breakage.
“Bone is a living, growing tissue, with old bone tissue continually being removed and replaced by new bone tissue,” explains Dr Annette Creedon, nutrition manager for the British Nutrition Foundation.
“This is a continual process that happens throughout the lifecycle, but when you have osteoporosis, old bone tissue is removed faster than new bone can be produced.”
She says the higher the peak bone mass we can get in young adulthood, and the slower the loss of bone mass in later adulthood, the better.
These things are partly determined by genetics but diet and lifestyle also play a part – and women are more at risk of osteoporosis than men, especially in the first few years after menopause or if menopause begins before your mid-40s, due to the role of oestrogen.
Christine Bailey, registered nutritionist and ambassador for bonebalance supplements, says the condition is often cited as a ‘silent disease’ because it can develop unnoticed for many years, only coming to light when a fracture occurs.
Here, experts talk us through some of the key, but perhaps less obvious, ways to help build bone density...
EAT A WIDE VARIETY OF FOODS
“Calcium is wellknown to be important for bones but there are other vitamins, minerals and nutrients vital to keeping bones healthy and strong, including vitamin K, potassium and magnesium,” notes Dr Creedon. “Eating a healthy, balanced diet with a wide variety of foods from each food group is important for getting all the nutrients needed to build and maintain healthy bones throughout life.”
MEASURE YOUR SHADOW
The body produces vitamin D via sun exposure but how do you know if you’re getting enough?
If your shadow is shorter than your height, Dr Creedon says your body can produce vitamin D from sunlight exposure. However, if your shadow is longer than your height, this means the sun is too low in the sky for you to be able to produce vitamin D during autumn and winter months. “Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium and is essential for controlling the amount of calcium and phosphorus in the body, to build and maintain healthy bones and muscles,” says Dr Creedon. “As we age, a low vitamin D level can increase the risk of weak bones making them more prone to breaking – osteoporosis.” We generally need 10 micrograms of vitamin D a day, which is why supplements are advised during the colder, darker months, to ensure we maintain healthy levels.
CONSIDER COLLAGEN
Christine cites collagen – which declines as we age – as the forgotten nutrient for bone health: “While in the past, the focus has been on calcium for building bone density, research is revealing a whole host of other nutrients are needed for healthy bones, including magnesium, vitamin D, vitamin K2, vitamin C and silica. Collagen is also important.
“Collagen is the body’s most abundant structural protein, which acts like glue to hold your body together,” she says.
“It’s a building block for bones and makes up about 35% of your bone tissue. It provides a framework for your bones and, along with calcium and other nutrients, strengthens them.”
Collagen supplements are a relatively new – but booming – addition to the wellness landscape. If you are considering giving it a go, Christine suggests being aware it comes in different forms, so it’s important to take one specifically suited to bone health.
“Research has shown a particular type of bioactive collagen peptides, bonebalance, starts to work in six days,” says Christine.
TAKE UP TENNIS
Or any other weight-bearing exercise you enjoy, such as dancing, hiking or jogging, suggests Dr Creedon.
“Resistance exercises, such as lifting weights or push-ups using your own body weight, help to build muscle strength, which also supports bone health as muscles pulling on your bones will increase bone strength,” Dr Creedon explains.
As she points out, regular physical activity is important for building strong healthy bones when we’re younger, and for maintaining bone health when we’re older.
It also helps improve balance and co-ordination, which can prevent falls. If you have any underlying health condition or you have already been diagnosed with thinning bone, Dr Creedon says you should speak with your GP or health specialist before undertaking any new form of exercise.
GO OUT ON DAILY WALKS
If strength training sounds too ambitious, or you’re worried about injuring yourself, it’s still vital to keep moving any way you can. “Putting our bones under relative stress helps to build bone,” says Sophie Chabloz, CPO and co-founder of Avea Life. “Making exercise part of your daily regime is therefore crucial in helping to build bone density.” In fact, Sophie says studies have shown that women who walk approximately one mile each day have higher whole-body bone density than women who walk shorter
distances.
DITCH LOW-CALORIE DIETS
“A low calorie diet often leads to weak bones, as there’s little opportunity to obtain the adequate nutrients required to maintain bone health,” warns Sophie. “Your diet should include a healthy balance of fats, protein, vitamins, and minerals, in order to help build bone density.”
AVOID CANNED, FIZZY DRINKS
It’s worth reading the small print on your favourite fizzy drinks. Phosphoric acid is a common additive in soft drinks but too much of it can affect bone health. “High intakes [of phosphoric acid] can increase loss of calcium from your bones,” warns Dr Sarah Brewer, medical director of Healthspan. “This can upset the balance of calcium and phosphorus, which can result in calcium leaching from bones, potentially impacting on bone density.”
GOK WAN has realised something: when it comes to wellbeing, there is no one-size-fits-all answer or clear finish line.
“My mental wellbeing is finding balance in my life, which is the one thing I find the biggest struggle,” says the stylist, presenter, DJ and author, 48. “Not overworking, making sure I’ve got enough time for myself, so I can breathe and notice changes and see where I’m going.
“But it’s tough. I’m still working it out. Hopefully by the time I retire, I will have worked out what work-life balance is!” he adds with a laugh.
Being freelance has amplified the struggle – from the early days as a hair and make-up artist to becoming a household name on Noughties TV shows like Gok’s Fashion Fix and How To Look Good Naked. As Gok says: “When you’re freelance, you’re in constant fear of: Am I going to work again? I’m almost 50 now and I still find that difficult, I have to remind myself to switch off, remind myself to take a holiday, remind myself that I can say no to a job.
“Over the years, I’ve missed weddings, holidays, funerals, whatever, because I’ve been working,” he admits – but it’s something he’s been actively working on in recent years, alongside a wider shift in taking better care of himself.
Self-care is something that “constantly changes” for Gok, but: “I’m slightly fixated at the moment on little wins, as I’m calling it, which is appreciating the idea of getting up on time, getting to a job on time, being a good person wherever I’m going, making sure I’ve got enough time for my friends, my family, but also my job – it’s all those little wins that make me feel like I’m doing a better job of being myself.
“And that includes things like walking the dog [Gok’s beloved Dolly], listening to some music –and not being on camera, recording something for social media, or on my computer – otherwise you never stop.”
By doing a bit less, he says: “I’ve probably been far more alert in the work that I am doing, instead of constantly rushing to the next job” – which sums up mindfulness and our quest for being more present in the moment.
“But it’s such a hard lesson, isn’t it?” he reasons. “Because none of us want to lose our drive or ambition. And that’s one of the first things people comment on as well, as a compliment – you’ve got so much drive, you work so hard, you’re so good at what you do – and all that validation makes you feel better about yourself. But there’s no point being all of those wonderful things, if then you wake up and all of a sudden you don’t know who you are.”
For Gok, music is vital for keeping this sense of connection with himself and his wellbeing. So it felt like a “natural fit” when Bupa approached him to team up on their #Bupahealthtracks campaign, collaborating with the brand to compile a playlist – now available on his Spotify – with songs that have a positive association with health and wellbeing.
Featuring the likes of Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now, The Beatles’ Here Comes The Sun and feelgood classics like California Dreaming by The Mamas & the Papas and (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay by Otis Redding, members of the public can add their own top wellbeing-enhancing tracks too.
Bupa recently surveyed 4,000 UK adults and found 78% say music is a go-to tool for boosting their mood, while 62% say music is an integral part of their health and wellbeing, with 70% saying it’s helped them through stressful times. Pop was revealed as the genre most associated with happiness, while dance came out top for motivation, and classical was the most popular choice for inspiration and holistic wellness – which comes as no surprise to Gok. “I listen to pretty much every type of music, other than heavy metal – not that I disrespect that in any way. I listen to a lot of opera and classical, and I really enjoy choral music. “If I need to relax or think about something, I’ve got something on my mind, a project I’m trying to work out, or I’ve had a deep conversation with somebody that I need to process, I find very droney, melodic music really helps my brain to concentrate,” he says. “I’m very greedy with music. It’s a great way of centring my brain, especially when it’s going a million miles per hour, which it often is.
“For instance, if I’m feeling a bit low or sad or upset, I can either play music that accompanies that and keeps me in that space, if I need to be thinking about something. Or I can completely shift my mood by playing something uplifting that makes me smile.”
While it’s always been “massively important”, Gok’s relationship with music took on even greater meaning during the pandemic.
“If anything, music got me through – well, it’s one of the things that got me through,” he recalls of lockdown. “I had a really tough time, I hated it, and I’ve spoken about it very publicly. I’m still dealing with it now - I still have moments where I get the fear of isolation, because it hit me so badly.”
Prior to this, he’d already started Djing professionally, after years of doing it as a hobby. When lockdown hit, he started ‘Isolation Nation’ as an online rave, with thousands logging on to join his weekly DJ sets streamed from his kitchen.
“It wasn’t a selfless act at all – I didn’t do it because I suddenly thought, ‘OK, well I now need to lift the mood of the world.’ It was because I needed it as much. I needed to have contact with people, I needed to share things, I needed to be visible, I needed to see other people as well. So it was a two-way street.
“But I couldn’t have done that without the music. It wasn’t me that I was playing out to people. Music is hugely powerful in that. [It was] one of the things that saved me from lockdown – and many people have told me they felt the same thing.”
GOK WAN TELLS ABI JACKSON ABOUT ‘LITTLE WINS’, HIS LIFELONG QUEST FOR BALANCE, AND WHY MUSIC IS A FORM OF SELF-CARE
If anything, music got me through... I had a really tough time Gok on the pandemic
Gok Wan is supporting Bupa’s #Bupahealthtracks campaign, using music to celebrate health and wellness in all its different forms. To listen or add your own songs, find the playlist on Spotify.