Nutrition for Healthy Bones
Article written by Elizabeth Quinn, MS, LDN, CNS (podcast guest) Edited by Sandra Gentleman, RD
How can a woman in midlife keep her bones strong and prevent osteoporosis?
In midlife you are already losing bone mass. You reach peak bone mass in your 20s, and then it slowly declines over the rest of your life. Ideally, you build up strong enough bones in your teens and twenties to last you for the rest of your life.
Even if you didn’t have the best start, there is still plenty you can do to strengthen your bones and keep them strong as you get older. In order to have strong bones you need protein, vitamins A, D, C and K, calcium, and over ten other minerals that are directly related to bone health.
You can get most of these nutrients
by eating a variety of whole foods. For example, dark leafy greens, whole grains and dairy products contain nearly all the vitamins and minerals you need to keep your bones strong. The most basic thing is to eat enough food.
If you are skipping meals, restricting calories or doing long fasts, you likely aren’t taking in enough energy and nutrients to nourish your bones.
How important is weight bearing exercise on the skeleton?
There is more to bone strength than just eating enough food. Strong bones and muscles go hand in hand. The stress and tension that weight bearing exercise puts on bone stimulates bone cells to deposit more calcium and minerals into their matrix. This is more than just a mechanical process. There is also cross-talk between muscles and bones, where they are sending small proteins called myokines and osteokines back and forth to regulate each other’s metabolism.
What about supplements for bone health?
Sometimes you might need to strategically use supplements to cover any gaps in your diet.
There is no one-size-fits-all formula for supplements
It depends on what you eat and your personal health history. Some of the more common supplements that people take to support their bones are calcium, vitamin D, vitamin K and magnesium. Protein powders, shakes or bars can also be handy if you have trouble eating enough protein in the form of food.
One important piece of the puzzle is digestion.
You might think that when you swallow a piece of food or a pill, it automatically becomes a part of your body. However you are just putting it into your gut. Did you know that the inside of your gut is actually considered to be outside of your body? The food that you eat must be broken down into small enough pieces to pass through your gut membrane and enter your bloodstream.
So, you can eat a perfect diet or take a handful of supplements
but that won’t help you if you don’t digest and absorb those nutrients. Putting It All Together The first step to keeping your bones strong is getting the energy and nutrients you need by eating a variety of whole, nutrient-dense foods. Even after you eat a healthy diet, you might still need to cover any gaps by taking strategic supplements. This can look different for everyone, depending on your health history, your genetics, and what foods you like and are able to eat. Finally, you need good digestion to get those nutrients into your body. In my work as a Nutritionist I help people optimize their digestion, and find a personalized food and supplement plan to make sure they are getting all the nutrients they need.
