Diet – Bone Health

Children usually learn a song to teach them all about the bones in the body because of the important function they play. Bones are living tissue that constantly changes and remodels. They protect our vital organs, and give a support structure to our whole bodies. But, what happens when this process of changing and remodelling does not occur at a balanced rate? Women often suffer from bone mineral loss or osteoporosis as they get older, and in some cases, lack of knowledge may have been a causal factor.

Dr Raeesa Moolla, general practitioner at SuedeWellness Life Resilience Institute, says bone structure changes with age, and that the marrow produces blood cells and stores minerals, especially calcium. “At birth we have 270 soft bones, but these fuse as we grow. In adulthood, the human body has 206 bones. As you age, there are changes in posture and gait (walking pattern). This is due to various factors, including the loss of bone mass as well as loss of minerals and calcium,” she explains.

BONE LOSS

Bones become more brittle and as a result, they may fracture easily. “Osteoporosis is known as a ‘silent’ disease or ‘silent crippler’ because there may be no symptoms for years. It affects mostly older women, but it can be prevented from a young age, as bone loss occurs from the age of 25,” Dr Moolla continues. Women are more susceptible to bone mineral loss because they usually have thinner, smaller and lessdense bones than men. They also lose more bone mass after menopause due to a decline in oestrogen.

WHAT HAPPENS? LINEO LETEBA

Women can lose up to 20% of bone density in the first five years post menopause. Other factors including family history, race, diet as well as some lifelong habits may increase your chances of weakened bone density. Eating disorders and the lack of physical activity, as well as calcium and other minerals and vitamins, can also affect how fast you lose it. “Medications to treat the thyroid or cancer, or anti-epileptics as well as the long-term use of steroids, accelerate bone mineral loss,” Dr Moolla adds.

According to Mpho Tshukudu, registered dietician and co-author of Eat-Ting: Lose Weight, Gain Health, Find Yourself, as we get older, we build less bone than we are making. “Osteoporosis varies according to age, family history and ethnic background. Caucasian women tend to have increased risk, but men also get osteoporosis,” Tshukudu says.

Issues such as inflammation and high levels of homocysteine (amino acids you get mostly from eating meat) are linked to low bone mineral density, and they have been suspected of decreasing bone blood flow, increasing breakdown and decreasing building.

SLOW IT DOWN

One of the best ways to prevent osteoporosis is to build strong bones from childhood. You can do this through good nutrition and physical activity. Tshukudu adds that you need a healthy balance for the maintenance of the bone. “This is affected by blood flow that delivers nutrients, removes waste and exposes bones to antioxidants and pro-inflammatory agents in the body. Poor blood circulation leads to nutrient insufficiency, acidosis, build-up of waste and inability for the bones to repair,” she says. Do not smoke or have more that one alcoholic beverage a day.

Dr Lonwabo Godlwana, physiotherapist at Busamed Health Group, says you need to be conscious of how you sit, stand and walk because bone disease also makes you look like you are collapsing forward. “The curve at the bottom of your ribs gives you a bump at the back, causing you to slouch forward. Do exercises that strengthen your back muscles so that you can be more upright and improve your posture,” he says.

You need to keep a healthy weight because being underweight weakens your bones and makes you vulnerable to increased bone mineral loss. Tshukudu says it is important to keep an ideal body fat percentage of 18%–28% for women and 10%–20% for men. “Having a high body fat percentage is associated with bone fractures. Eat healthily and avoid yo-yo dieting. Low energy diets are generally lower in nutrients and may weaken bones,” she continues. “You need to replace calcium, phosphate, magnesium and other minerals that work to strengthen the bone, to minimise your chances of having weaker bone density,” Dr Godlwana adds.

WORK IT OUT! REPLENISH AND REPLACE

Do exercises that aren’t aggressive, but bear weight on the bones, load them with minerals and stimulate their growth. This is a good way of minimising your chances of osteoporosis at an early age. But, what happens when you are already suffering from bone mineral loss? According to Tshukudu, “strength training and flexibility exercises such as yoga and

The point is not to stress your bones, but to load them.

And, thus deposits more minerals to the bones.

Jogging is good for both depositing minerals and helping the bones gain strength.

Move around the pool doing different exercises under appropriate supervision, including walking in different directions where it’s safe in the water. You don’t have to swim.

Support your back when lifting weights that work your legs and arms. Don’t lift heavy weights because this can fracture or break your bones. This is subjective because you can’t specify kilograms as it differs from person to person.

Your spine and hip area are more susceptible to changes during bone loss. There’s no need to target certain bones in particular because you want to stimulate all of them. But, you can spend a bit more time on your spine and hip area to improve your posture and straighten your back.

Then give aerobics a bash. It’s a fairly comfortable way of exercising, and not bouncy on the bone.

It strengthens muscles which, in turn, improves your posture and balance.

It improves flexibility and posture.

Dancing actually strengthens the muscles and stimulates bones. Remember this fun fact the next time someone pulls you to the dance floor.