Keeping Bones In Good Shape

Keeping your bones in good shape is tricky. Joint and bone health is a concern for everyone because it directly impacts mobility and therefore overall quality of life. Although older people may come to mind first when you think of bone health, everyone should have the same interest in maintaining joint and bone health.

Are your bones healthy and strong?

Do you hear a cracking sound when you bend over? Are you aware of your posture at this moment?

Bones are living tissues that make up the skeletal system in the body. They provide structure to the body, protect internal organs, anchor muscles, store calcium and play a very important role in movement.

Bones are made up of three major components:

1. Collagen, a protein that gives bones a flexible framework

2. Calcium-phosphate mineral complexes that make bones hard and strong

3. Living bone cells that remove and replace weakened sections of bone

Most of us are not aware that we are not taking proper care of our bones. A hectic lifestyle and inadequate nutrient intake contribute towards bone loss. Obesity, an excessive alcohol and caffeine intake, and a sedentary lifestyle also lead to weak and brittle bones.

Women who constantly wear high heels, stilettos or pointed-pumps are slowly damaging  their bones, perhaps without even realising it.

Many people start watching their calcium intake only after being diagnosed with osteoporosis. Prevention is always the best choice, but it is never too late to start supplementing your daily diet with the nutrients required for good bone health.

The lack of the right nutrients and care will increase your risk of developing osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a disease of the skeletal system characterised by low bone mass and deterioration  of bone tissue. This progressive loss of bone mass leads to an increased risk of bone fractures especially of the wrist, hip and spine.

Women above the age of 65 are five times more likely to develop osteoporosis than men due to the drop in hormone levels and bone structure.

Bones naturally become thinner (through a process called osteopenia) as we age. This is because the rate at which existing bones are broken down is faster than the rate of the generation of new bone cells.

Therefore, more calcium and minerals are lost, making the bone less dense and more porous. This can lead to bone fractures.

An inadequate intake of calcium forces the body to draw calcium out from the bones to replace the amount that the body needs. When this happens, the bones become brittle, causing a weaker spinal cord.

While calcium is considered the main bone nutrient, studies have shown that too much attention paid to calcium intake and the neglect of other nutrients can also increase the risk of osteoporosis.

Ideally, calcium should be taken along with supplements that enhance its bioavailability, such as vitamin D and magnesium. Vitamin K2-7 has also been shown to promote the body’s utilisation of calcium.

Feeling disjointed?

Cartilage is a firm, rubbery material that covers the ends of bones. Its main function is to reduce friction in the joints and serve as a “shock absorber”.

A healthy and normal cartilage has shock-absorbing qualities as well as the ability to change shape when compressed, flattened or pressed together.

Arthritis is defined as the inflammation of the joints. Osteoarthritis refers to the wear and tear of the joints and this condition is very common among the elderly. It is associated with a breakdown of cartilage in joints and can occur in almost any joint in the body.

It commonly affects the joints of the hips, knees and spine. It also affects the fingers, neck and toes.

The wearing down of cartilage in a joint causes it to become stiff and lose its elasticity, making it more susceptible to damage. As the cartilage deteriorates, tendons and ligaments will start to stretch and this causes pain, swelling and reduced motion in joints.

Bone and joint care

Caring for bones and joints is a difficult task as it is a continuous process. While regular exercise and the consumption of sufficient vitamins and minerals can help reduce the loss of bone density thus preventing osteoporosis and reducing osteoarthritis, innovation continues to lie in how to deliver nutrition or nutraceuticals to the body in order to stimulate bone formation and synovial fluid production, as well as cartilage regeneration.