Keeping Your Bones Healthy and Strong

The structure and health of our body relies greatly on the health of our bones.  Bone health is a vital part of our overall wellbeing.   We know our bones are important but we often overlook just how essential healthy bones really are.  Bones are not just a hard lifeless substance that hold us erect, healthy bones provide minerals that are necessay for the function of our body's life sustaining systems.

It is our aim to provide interesting and informative content in an easy to understand format.  There are numerous medical sites to further add to your knowledge of bone health and diseases of the muscular skeletal system and links will be provided where further information will assist in understanding and caring for your bones. 

Bone disease is an important issue for me personally as a number of family members and close friends suffer from a number of debilitating muscular skeletal diseases that effect their daily lives.

What are Bones?

Bones are complex living tissue.  To maintain healthy bones we need to have a good balanced diet and also adequate exercise.  The human skeletal system enables us to stand erect and give us mobility.  Image your body without bones!

Starting and Maintaining Good Bone Health

Learning about bone health should start when we are young.  Our bones must be replenished with nutrients to prevent bone loss.  It all comes down to what we do and don't eat together with fresh air and exercise. 

A diet rich in fresh fruit, vegetables and whole grains will provide our bones and body with good sources of vitamins and minerals.  Low-fat dairy products contain more calcium than ordinary dairy products.  Calcium is a well known mineral associated with strong healthy bones and due to the constant remodeling, our bones require adequate sources of calcium to prevent them becoming weak and brittle.

Some do's and don't for Healthy Bones

• Do - Daily Exercise!  Studies have shown that young people who participate in high-impact excercise build bone mass that will reduce the risk of bone fractures later in their life. As we get older, walking, dancing, yoga, tai chi and lifting weights can strengthen muscles, boost bone mass and prevent bone loss.
  
• Do - Eat Healthy!  Ensure your diet includes, green vegetables such as beans and broccoli, foods high in calcium e.g. low-fat dairy, sardines, salmon and figs. A well balance diet will provide your body with all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals it needs for healthy living.
  
• Don't - Smoke!  Smoking can interfere with our body's calcium balance.
  
• Don't -  Drink to Excess!  The drink referred to here includes caffeine based drinks, soft drink and alcohol.  (Research indicates that a small amount of alcohol, e.g. half a pint of beer or one glass of wine may improve bones by raising the estrogen level that helps to keep bones strong).

It is essential that we not only take care of our bones, but also ensure that our offspring are aware of the importance of healthy bones.  Of course the young will believe that they don't have to be concerned with "old people's" diseases for some time to come.  It is up to us to make them aware that bone disease does not discriminate with age and if they work to keep their bones healthy they reduce the risk of arthritic complaints and osteoporosis in the future.