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Now, some 40 odd years since I first studied it, the biology of the human body continues to amaze me.

It is remarkable how little it sometimes takes to cause terrible mischief, like a tiny blood clot or gas bubble leading to a devastating stroke or a small amount of a poison or toxin setting off a deadly cascade. But, at other times, I am just dumbfounded by how much a body can withstand and either not be harmed, or, if injured, bounce back, heal and recover, shrugging off a huge insult like a mere trifle.

I know of a patient involved in a freak car accident recently in which a front tire of an SUV rolled over their calf and thigh, missing the knee completely. Although there was a good bit of injury to skin and the fatty tissue below it, the muscles, nerves, blood vessels and bones were remarkably uninjured! Bones can be tough.

Bones do a lot for us — obviously, they provide structure, allow movement, protect organs and anchor muscles, but they also store calcium. When children are growing, we’re focused on making sure their diets and activities promote healthy bones. But adults also need to make sure they’re taking steps to ensure their bones stay healthy as they age.

Your bones are always changing, with new bone being made and old bone getting broken down. When you’re young, your body is able to make new bone faster than it breaks down, increasing your bone mass. However, most people reach their peak bone mass by the time they’re 30.

As you age, you lose slightly more bone mass than you gain. This becomes problematic because low bone mass can lead to osteoporosis, which causes bones to become weak and brittle.

However, osteoporosis isn’t inevitable — you can do things now to ensure you have healthy bones and plenty of bone mass “in your bank.” Here are the ingredients you need for healthy bones.

Calcium

Calcium in a necessary mineral — it’s the key component of bones and keeps them healthy in addition to helping blood clot, nerves send messages, and muscles contract.

Each day, you lose calcium through your skin, nails, hair, sweat, urine and feces. But your body can’t produce new calcium on its own, which is why it’s so important to make sure you get enough calcium in your diet.

An ongoing lack of calcium plays a big role in the development of osteoporosis.

When your body doesn’t have enough calcium, it’s taken from your bones. That’s why not getting enough calcium over time contributes to diminished bone density, early bone loss, and an increased risk of fractures.

Women age 50 and younger need about 1,000 mg of calcium and women age 51 and older need 1,200 mg of calcium daily. Men 70 and younger need 1,000 mg of calcium per day and men 71 and older need about 1,200 mg.

Food is the best source of calcium. Some great sources of calcium include dairy products, like low-fat and non-fat milk, yogurt and cheese. Almonds and green leafy vegetables like kale and broccoli are also high in calcium.

If you’re not getting enough calcium from your diet or you need more than your diet can provide, your doctor may recommend a calcium supplement.

Vitamin D

Focusing on getting enough calcium isn’t enough for your bones — you also need to make sure you’re getting enough vitamin D.

Your body needs vitamin D to help it absorb calcium and use it to strengthen and build your bones. If you’re not getting enough vitamin D, you may be at risk of losing bone, having lower bone density and breaking bones as you age.

Like calcium, you get vitamin D through your diet. But your body also makes vitamin D naturally when your skin is exposed to sunlight.

You skin makes vitamin D from the ultra violet (UV) rays in sunlight. Your body is able to store vitamin D and use it later. The amount of this vitamin your skin makes depends on the time of day, season, latitude, your skin pigmentation, and other factors.

Some people don’t get enough vitamin D during the reduced sunlight hours of winter, or because they’re focused on avoiding the sun due to skin cancer concerns. However, you only need a minimal amount of sun exposure to boost your vitamin D production — about 10 minutes a day.

You can make up for lack of sunlight by eating foods that provide you with vitamin D, including fatty fish like wild-caught mackerel, salmon and tuna. Some milk, other dairy products, soy milk, orange juice and cereals have vitamin D added to them — find out by checking their labels.

Men and women under the age of 50 need 400 to 800 international units (IU) of vitamin D daily. People 50 and older need 800 to 1,000 IU per day.

If you’re not getting enough vitamin D from the sun or in your diet, or you already have osteoporosis, your doctor may recommend adding a daily vitamin D supplement. But first, check any other supplements you’re taking to see if they contain vitamin D — many multivitamins and calcium supplements also contain vitamin D.

Exercise

You may think that exercise can put you at risk of getting injured, but it is a key component of building healthy bones.

Bones do better if you stress them to a reasonable degree. Weight-bearing exercises cause your body to resist gravity and stimulate cells in your bones to make new bone, effectively strengthening it.

Exercise not only causes muscles to pull on the bone to cause increased bone strength, but also increases your flexibility, strengthens your muscles, and gives your joints more support. All of this together reduces your chances of falling.

For people who have already been diagnosed with osteoporosis, exercise is just as important — it can help prevent further bone loss.

Weight-bearing and strengthening exercises that can help keep your bones strong include walking, yoga, aerobics, jogging, dancing, climbing stairs, tai chi, water aerobics and racket sports.

For exercise to increase your bone strength, try to get a mix of aerobic, weight bearing and resistance exercises in throughout the week.

Take care of your bones and they’ll take care of you.

Alfred Casale To Your Health
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_casale-3.jpg.optimal.jpgAlfred Casale To Your Health

By Alfred Casale

To Your Health

Dr. Alfred Casale, a cardiothoracic surgeon, is Associate Chief Medical Officer for Geisinger Health and Chair of the Geisinger Cardiac Institute. Readers may write to him via [email protected].