Why should I be worried about bone health now?
It is never too early to start worrying about bone health. Your peak bone-making years are in your childhood and teen years. If you do not make enough bone as a kid, your risk for a bone disease called osteoporosis goes up. Having good eating and exercise habits now will help you to have strong, healthy bones throughout your life. A poor diet and not enough physical activity as a teen can cause you to have weaker bones as an adult. This not only makes it easier to get osteoporosis, it can hurt the body's ability to heal right after an injury. Getting enough calcium and vitamin D and doing enough of the right type of physical activity (called "bone-strengthening activity") can help protect your bones.
Osteoporosis (say: ah-stee-oh-per-oh-sis) is a disease that thins and weakens bones to the point where they break easily. It is called a "silent disease" because bone loss happens without much notice. Having a bone break easily or getting a little shorter is often the first sign of this disease. While osteoporosis can strike at any age, over half of all women over age 65 have it.
There are certain things that are linked to your chances of getting osteoporosis. These things are called risk factors. Some risk factors cannot be changed, while others can be changed.
Risk factors that CANNOT be changed include:
· Sex. Women are more likely to develop the disease than men are. Women have lighter, thinner bones to begin with and their bones become thinner quickly after menopause (when periods stop for good).
· Age. The longer you live, the greater your chances are of getting the disease. The amount of bone loss varies among women, and not all women get osteoporosis.
· Family history. This disease runs in families, which means your risk of getting it is greater if someone in your family has the disease.
· Body size. Women who are small-boned and thin have a higher risk than women who are larger-boned and weigh more. But, being heavy does not mean that you will not get this disease.
· Ethnicity. White and Asian women are at greater risk for this disease. Black and Hispanic women do get osteoporosis, though.
Risk factors that CAN be changed include:
· Diet. Getting enough calcium and vitamin D in your diet will help you to build and keep strong, healthy bones.
· Bone-strengthening activity. Exercise helps keep bones strong and healthy over your lifetime.
· Smoking. Smoking lowers the level of the hormone estrogen in your body, which can cause you to go through menopause earlier, boosting your risk for osteoporosis.
Bone-strengthening activity is any activity that produces a force on the bones (weight bearing) and promotes bone growth and strength. Examples of bone-strengthening activities that you can do include walking, running, tennis, dancing, tae kwon do, hiking, hopscotch, and basketball.
To make bones strong and to keep them strong, the body needs calcium, vitamin D, and physical activity.
· Calcium helps bones to grow right. When the body makes new bone tissue, it first lays down a framework of a protein called collagen. Then, calcium from the blood spreads throughout the collagen framework. The hard crystals of calcium attach to the bone structure. Calcium and collagen work together to make bones both strong and flexible.
Calcium is also needed for many other activities within the body such as neural communication (the way your nerves and brain send signals to each other) and heart and lung functions. If the body doesn't get enough calcium from foods and drinks, it takes it from bones, which can make them weaker.
Calcium is also needed for many other activities within the body such as neural communication (the way your nerves and brain send signals to each other) and heart and lung functions. If the body doesn't get enough calcium from foods and drinks, it takes it from bones, which can make them weaker.
· Vitamin D helps the body use calcium. Lots of foods have calcium, but vitamin D can be harder to find. You can get what you need for the day by drinking two glasses of fortified milk, and some cereals and yogurts are fortified with vitamin D as well.
· Physical activity helps bones become stronger and thicker, just as a muscle gets stronger and bigger the more you use it. Bones are living tissue. Bone-strengthening activity causes new bone tissue to form, making bones even stronger. It also makes muscles stronger, and muscles push and tug against bones to make them even stronger. Physical activity also makes you better coordinated, which can make you less likely to fall and break a bone.
Some girls get a stomachache or have gas after they have milk or other dairy products because of lactose intolerance. The good news is that there are milk and other dairy products that are specially made for people with lactose intolerance. Look for milks, cheeses, cottage cheese, and other dairy products that are labeled "lactose-free" or "lactose-reduced." These dairy products have just as much calcium as the regular products. There are also pills and drops that can make it easier for you to digest milk and dairy products. Talk to your doctor if you would like to try one. Other foods rich in calcium include canned salmon, broccoli, and leafy green vegetables. Some foods have added calcium, like orange juice and cereal.
There are many low-fat or fat-free milk products available. Also, there is the same amount of calcium in fat-free and low-fat milk. Dairy products are a very important part of a teen's diet. They provide calcium, vitamin D, and other nutrients that help prevent osteoporosis.
Research suggests that teen girls who drink a lot of soda pop, especially colas, have more bone fractures (breaks). One reason that soda pop may be bad for your bones is that if you drink a lot of it, you might not be drinking as much milk as you should. As a result, you're not getting all the calcium and vitamin D that you need for growing healthy bones. Another reason may be that colas contain a lot of phosphoric acid (foss-FOR-ihk ASS-ihd). Taking in a lot of phosphoric acid may cause your bones to lose calcium, making them weaker.
Excerpts taken from "What Girls Need to Know About Bone Health" from girlshealth.gov. Read more: http://www.girlshealth.gov/nutrition/bonehealth/index.cfm
Best Teen Diets recommends well balanced eating that includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat and fat-free dairy and protein. We offer nutrition information for teens, parents, and educators that emphasizes the importance of healthy eating in teens. For more information visit www.bestteendiets.org, and stay tuned for our relaunch with updated content and resources.
