Osteoporosis – Nutrition Guide for Healthy Bones
Osteoporosis means porous bones. It’s estimated that osteoporosis affects 3 million people in the UK. In the US it affects 25 million people and half of all women over 45. Each year there are over 230,000 fractures as a result of the condition.
Factors which increase the risk of osteoporosis include:
- Heavy drinking deprives the body of vital nutrients especially calcium and vitamin D. It also interferes with normal healthy bone turnover.
- Smoking also depletes vitamins and minerals and can lead to an earlier menopause and breakdown of oestrogen.
- A lack of oestrogen for women and testosterone for men.
- Early menopause – before the age of 45.
- Missing periods for over six months as a result of over-dieting or excessive exercise.
- Family history of the disease. Malabsorption of nutrients-through conditions like coeliac disease or Crohn’s disease.
- Studies show a lack of calcium in the diet has a significant effect on bone loss in women. If the body does not receive enough calcium, it will begin to take it from the bones.
- It is important to make sure your diet supplies enough calcium throughout your life, ideally from childhood, long before problems like osteoporosis become apparent.
What you can do to help
- Eat a healthy well balanced diet, with a range of foods from each of the different food groups, including protein, vitamins and minerals. Bone mineral loss begins long before there are any outward signs.
- Boost calcium and vitamin D levels and the natural production of hormones through diet. Supplements of calcium, vitamin D and bisphosphonates (as prescribed by a GP) may also help bone density and reduce the likelihood of fractures.
- Make sure you take regular exercise. Weight-bearing exercise, walking, tennis and yoga are all particularly helpful.
The skeleton takes just two years to completely renew itself in childhood. An adult skeleton takes between seven and ten years. Eating an orange with your meal means you will absorb more calcium, iron, minerals and other vitamins from your food.
Bodybuilding-calcium
Calcium plays a vital role in the formation of bones and their maintenance. The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition which sets recommended daily levels for nutrient consumption advises that calcium intake should be over 700mg daily for an adult. However, many scientists think this should be higher and set at an optimum level of around 1000mg and as much as 1200mg during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Ideally, for healthily strong bones and to guard against osteoporosis later in life, you should eat a calcium-rich diet from childhood.
It is worth remembering that for calcium to be properly absorbed, your body also needs vitamin D. Obviously if you play a sport outdoors or take regular walks, sunlight will help you to make your own vitamin D. The best food source of the vitamin is oily fish.
Useful facts
- Dairy products contain the most easily absorbed calcium, although there is very little in either butter or cream.
- Some common foods can radically reduce calcium absorption. These include wholegrain cereals, bran and some nuts and pulses which contain phytic acid (a naturally-occurring compound found in cereals and legumes). This means that a 250ml (8fl oz) serving of milk on your wholegrain breakfast cereal will supply a tiny fraction of the calcium that the same serving would provide if drunk as a plain glass of milk at a different time of day.
- The oxalic acid in vegetables like spinach and some greens can also reduce calcium absorption.
- Coca-cola and other fizzy drinks contain phosphoric acid which increases the amount of calcium your body loses.
Good food sources of calcium include:
Dairy products, bony fish (especially sardines and whitebait), tofu, sesame seeds, almonds, dried figs, watercress, parsley and okra.