Doing the right things for healthy bones

There are some things that we take for granted until when something happens. Last week a friend of mine lost a sister due to an illness that was affecting the bones. What was more perplexing is the fact that all other diseases including cancer were ruled out, but this lady suffered pain in her bones until her death. Some things are ignored until when you hear a person has suffered due to it. How many of us think about their bones at least even once a week? How many of us ever think of eating some special foods so that once in a while the bones get all the supplements they need? Your guess is as good as mine

Saturday, November 05, 2011

There are some things that we take for granted until when something happens. Last week a friend of mine lost a sister due to an illness that was affecting the bones. What was more perplexing is the fact that all other diseases including cancer were ruled out, but this lady suffered pain in her bones until her death. Some things are ignored until when you hear a person has suffered due to it. How many of us think about their bones at least even once a week? How many of us ever think of eating some special foods so that once in a while the bones get all the supplements they need? Your guess is as good as mine.

We all know that our bones, muscles, connective tissue and joints are what hold us together, and enable us to move and give form to our bodies. This system is used and often misused a lot and as a consequence it suffers from wear and tear. According to the sources on the internet; the health of bones and muscles depends not only on their use but also on the body's metabolism, diet and lifestyle. The health of the bones and joints depends on the health of the whole body. If the body's biochemical and metabolic processes are not working properly, the body will be under a great deal of strain as it attempts to remove waste products and toxins.

Strong bones are essential to preventing bone breaks and fractures, events which can dramatically affect a person's quality of life or even lead to death. Because bones predominantly consist of the mineral calcium, increasing calcium sources in your diet, as well as boosting bone mass through activities such as weightlifting, may help to strengthen bones.

The first step in helping your bones to be strong is to engage in exercises that help to build bone mass. Weight-bearing exercises, such as squats, lunges or other exercises that incorporate lifting weights are great choices. Climbing stairs, taking a step aerobics class or running all require your body to work against gravity, which requires the body to overcome gravity to engage in activity.

It is equally important to play a sport, such as basketball, soccer, tennis or volleyball, all of which have been shown to increase muscle mass.

As much as we forget this part, it is essential to replace your daily soft drink or sports drink with a glass of low-fat milk. Milk contains high amounts of calcium, as well as other bone-boosting minerals, including vitamin D, protein, phosphorus and potassium. Low fat yogurt with fruit can be of help when a person feels like snacking

one should  also strive to increase the amount of bone-building vitamin D in the body by consuming foods such as tuna fish, salmon or cereals fortified with vitamin D. Getting outside in the sunshine for at least 15 minutes a day also has been shown to boost vitamin D levels in the body.

Last but not least is the tobacco intake. Smoking can deplete calcium and vitamin D stores in the body, thus depleting your bone mass, this can also lead to cancer of the bones. If you have never thought of your bones, this is the time-just follow the simple instructions to keep your bones in check and healthy and you will never regret.

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