Importance of Building Strong Bones
12:58 PMWhy should I care about promoting strong bones?
Many people have compared the skeleton to a savings
bank. During youth
and young adulthood you can deposit calcium into
your bone bank.
Between the ages of 9 and 18 your bone bank can
build at it's fastest
rate. For optimal bone building you need enough
calcium and vitamin
D, physical activity, hormonal balance, and healthy
lifestyle choices
like the avoidance of smoking. Peak bone mass, the
maximum bone density
an individual can attain, is reached between the
ages of 16 and 25. It is important to reach your peak bone mass so that
when
you are older and your body needs to take calcium
from your skeleton,
you will have a lower risk for osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis
is a bone thinning disease that can weaken the bones
and increase the
risk for fractures (broken bones).
What causes of osteoporosis later in life?
There are many potential causes of osteoporosis that are important
to be aware of in your teen years. Genetics or a strong family history
of osteoporosis is a primary cause of osteoporosis later in life. Your
genetics can lead to either lower peak bone mass and or greater rates
of bone loss later in life. It is important to try to build your strongest
skeleton as a teen or young adult, regardless of whether you are at
a genetic risk for developing osteoporosis later in life. Lifestyle
factors that can contribute to osteoporosis later in your life
include eating a poor diet, especially if it is low in calcium and
vitamin D, getting too little physical activity, smoking or using tobacco
products, and drinking excessive alcoholic beverages. Excessive dieting
and infrequent menstruation from any cause may also contribute to osteoporosis. There
are a number of other secondary
causes of osteoporosis including certain diseases, medical conditions,
and/or medications that interfere with reaching peak bone mass.
Exercise
Regular exercise or physical activity is absolutely necessary for building
strong bones. It is recommended that teens get 60 minutes of physical
activity most days. It is not completely understood how exercise and
activity improve peak bone mass, however, the findings from most research has
been the following:
- Exercise places physical stress on the body. Bones, like muscles, respond to stress by becoming bigger and stronger, and like muscles, bones weaken if not used.
- Exercise increases blood flow to the bones, bringing in vital bone-building nutrients.
- Exercise creates small electrical potentials (differences) in bone tissue that stimulate the growth of new bone.
- Exercise affects various components of the body's hormonal control of bone remodeling, shifting the balance toward new bone formation (more osteoblasts)
Eat a Nutrient Rich Diet with the Recommended Calcium and Vitamin D
It is important to eat a nutrient rich diet with the recommended calcium. 99% of the
calcium in your body is stored in your bones and teeth. The remaining
small amount of calcium that is found in blood and tissue plays
a critical role in supporting your body's vital functions: such as
controlling your blood pressure and maintaining your heartbeat. If
you don't eat the recommended amount of calcium, your body takes the calcium it needs
to support your body's vital functions from your bones.
During the teen years, if you don't get the calcium you need in your diet,
your body will take calcium from your bones.
During
the teen years (age 9 to 18), your calcium
requirement is higher than
at any other time of life. You need 1300 milligrams
of calcium
each day. To meet these recommendations, teens need
to make sure to include a calcium rich food or beverage at each meal and
snack.Calcium-rich foods include dairy products (milk, yogurt and cheese), calcium-rich non-dairy foods (certain green leafy vegetables, almonds, soy nuts) and calcium-fortified foods (especially cereals and citrus juices). Beverage choices can make a big difference in your calcium intake. If you drink lots of carbonated beverages, you will tend to drink less milk and calcium-fortified juice and be more likely to have a low calcium intake. It is also a good idea to keep your intake of caffeinated beverages low, too. Caffeine slightly reduces calcium absorption but more importantly high amounts of caffeine-containing beverages may be problematic if they replace beverages that contain calcium in your diet. So, think about what you drink and choose beverages that contain calcium as your first choice.
You can get the recommended amount of calcium in your diet, even if you are lactose intolerant, allergic to milk or following a strict vegetarian diet. If you have lactose intolerance, you can get the amount of calcium you need by taking lactase enzyme replacement along with dairy products or by choosing dairy products with lactase enzyme added. If you are allergic to milk or are following a strict vegetarian diet, you can get the recommended calcium by choosing non-dairy beverages with calcium added (such as fortified rice milk, fortified soymilk, fortified juice, as well as calcium rich non-dairy foods). Be sure to shake these products before serving to prevent the calcium from settling at the bottom of the container.
It is also important that you get the recommended amount of vitamin D. Vitamin D helps
your body use calcium so your skeleton can become as strong as
possible. To reach your peak mass, you need to get 600
IU of vitamin
D in your diet each day. There are foods that are natural sources
of vitamin D and foods that are fortified
with vitamin D. Beverages
fortified with Vitamin D include all varieties of
milk., some almond, rice, coconut and soy beverages and even some
yogurts. It
is important to read
food labels for vitamin D content per serving.
Many teenagers need vitamin D supplementation to reach the amount of
vitamin D recommended. Most multivitamins include 400 IU of vitamin D
but it is important to always read the label to find out how much
vitamin D a vitamin contains. Vitamin D is also available as a separate
supplement. Speak to your healthcare provider to find out if a you need
a multivitamin or a vitamin D supplement.
Teens need to eat the right amount of calories to have a healthy body weight and in order for girls to maintain normal menstrual function. It is also important to consume the right amount of protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamins and minerals to fuel an active body. A recent study in teens showed that higher consumption of fruits and vegetables was related to better bones.
Teens need to eat the right amount of calories to have a healthy body weight and in order for girls to maintain normal menstrual function. It is also important to consume the right amount of protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamins and minerals to fuel an active body. A recent study in teens showed that higher consumption of fruits and vegetables was related to better bones.
Avoid Alcohol:
There are many reasons to avoid underage drinking
of alcoholic beverages. Among the many dangers of drinking alcohol, it
is known to be bad for your bones. Alcohol can
affect bone health because it interferes with the bone building cells
known as osteoblasts. In fact, it may decrease the number of osteoblast
cells and interfere with their ability to form bone. This will lead
to a lower peak bone mass, and potential bone loss.
Avoid smoking:
Tobacco products
are bad for your overall health, and are linked to the development
of heart attacks, strokes, many cancers, and lung diseases. Smoking
is also very bad for your bones! If you are a smoker and decide to
continue to smoke, you are taking the chance of developing all of these
diseases including osteoporosis and may be increasing your risk for
fracture. Smoking directly affects the bone building cells and acts
to decrease bone formation. This can be particularly bad for bones
during youth and young adulthood when smoking can result in reaching
a lower peak bone mass than expected. According to studies, smokers
may also have lower bone mass because they tend to lead a more sedentary
lifestyle than nonsmokers.
Best Teen Diets recommends healthy well balanced eating that includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein and low-fat or fat-free dairy. We offer nutrition information for teens, parents and educators that emphasizes the importance of healthy eating for teens. For more information visit www.bestteendiets.org
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