Strong Choices for Strong Bones: Prevent Osteoporosis Now

Preventative wisdom dictates that you drink milk as you’re growing up and lead an active lifestyle to ward off osteoporosis. Growing kids and teens are bombarded with advertising messages promoting adequate calcium consumption, and similarly, post-menopausal women and senior citizens must face the facts of osteoporosis. What about the decades in between?

Now, scientists and health experts are promoting other types of preventative medicine that can be practiced throughout the mid-life years. Here are some helpful tips:

1. Eat For Your Age:

• In your 20s and 30s, many people, especially women, follow diets low in calories that can actually be harmful to your bones because they do not provide enough calcium. Try to eat a diet rich in calcium by either consuming dairy products in moderation or incorporating leafy greens into your diet. Broccoli, kale, and collard greens can all provide about 100 mg per serving or more of calcium. Almonds are another great source of calcium. To ward off osteoporosis, 1,000 mg per day of calcium is recommended.
• In your 40s, fiber is key. Make fruits and veggies your top priority and lose high-fat snacks. While you might have gotten away with lots of sweet treats in your younger years, your 40s are the time to eat desserts in moderation and pack your diet with foods rich in nutrients like berries, spinach, apples, green beans, and walnuts.
• When you get to your 50s, steer clear of salty foods, which can interfere with calcium absorption and stock up on dairy products like milk and yogurt. Calcium-fortified foods are also winners for your diet. However, it’s important that you not overdo the coffee – drinking multiple cups (three or more per day) has been linked to bone loss.

2. Keep Your Activity Consistent:

As you age, waistlines tend to increase as people, on average, get less and less activity. Your workout may not be the same in your 40s as it was in your 20s – but make sure you’re still making that daily effort to get some type of exercise. Fitting in 30-40 minutes of cardio a few times per week can have amazing effects on your bone health – not to mention your weight and energy.

3. Give Yourself A Break:

We know that stress is bad for our hearts, but it can also be bad for our bones. Cortisol, a stress hormone, actually impacts calcium levels due to its effects on mineral absorption. So no matter how stressful your work schedule or life becomes, give yourself that extra time to recuperate and keep the cortisol levels at bay.