The health of our bones plays a vital role in how we are able to function every day.

Since our bodies are exposed to a number of stress triggers, having good bone health is crucial to avoiding injuries and ensuring that our muscles, ligaments, and organs are protected.

But how can you ensure optimal bone health?

Let’s explore some of the most important foods for healthy bones and other useful bone tips.

Take Up Strength Training

Performing weight-bearing exercises is one of the most effective ways to increase your bone density and strength during their growth years, up to around 30 years old.

However, even older people can reap tremendous benefits from strength training – it helps improve bone density, strength, and even size, so if you’re looking for a training routine that will help maintain healthy bones, this is an excellent choice.

Consume Plenty of Calcium

Calcium is an integral mineral that helps to maintain the density, strength, and overall health of your bones. It is essential to include it in your diet.

For most adults, around 1,000 milligrams is the recommended daily dosage, so if you aren’t sure if you’re getting that with your diet, you should consider taking a supplement.

Some of the high-calcium foods you could take include leafy greens, legumes, and dried fruit.

Take Vitamin D

Vitamin D is another crucial vitamin for bone health, but unfortunately, a significant percentage of people around the world suffer from its deficiency, which can result in lower bone density.

As you may know, vitamin D is produced by the body through sun exposure, but during the less-sunny seasons, that is not enough.

You should make sure to take foods that are rich in vitamin D such as fatty fish or cheese. You can even take supplements during the colder and darker months.

Include Omega-3 Fats in Your Diet

Omega-3 fats are known as one of the most important nutrients for a wide range of reasons, and bone health and strength are one of them as well.

These types of fats promote healthy bone development, as well as the formation of new bones, and they can even help prevent osteoporosis.

Take Magnesium and Zinc

We already covered a few minerals, fats, and vitamins, but the list doesn’t end there – there are quite a few different nutrients that are vital for your bone health.

Namely, magnesium and zinc are two minerals that have been scientifically proven to increase bone density, promote the formation of bone-building cells, and help protect the bones from deterioration.

Maintain a Steady and Healthy Weight

Weight has a significant effect on the healthy bone structure of our bodies.

People who are underweight commonly suffer from issues related to lower bone density and strength, and have a higher risk of developing osteoporosis, healthy diet or not.

And while overweight people generally have stronger bones, the stress caused by the additional weight can increase the risk of fractures and long-term damage.

Finally, weight fluctuations have been shown to be especially detrimental, causing significant bone loss over a person’s lifetime.

Eat a Well-Balanced Diet

Although getting the proper nutrients is undoubtedly essential, you must also make sure that the diet itself is sufficient in terms of caloric intake.

If you don’t get enough calories as part of your daily diet, your body will have a hard time maintaining optimal bone density, as there simply won’t be enough nutrients.

Increase Protein Consumption

If you want healthy bones, you must consume enough protein, as it is a building block that helps make up our bones.

And for most people, getting enough daily protein can be a challenge, so you should make a conscious effort to increase protein intake.

To prevent loss of calcium due to blood acidity, make sure to supplement your protein intake with plenty of vegetables and legumes.

Diversify Your Vegetable Intake

Most people understand the importance of taking vegetables to get enough of plant-based foods for bone health, but it’s also vital to diversify your vegetable intake and take as many different vegetables as possible.

Vegetables such as broccoli or cabbage contain high amounts of antioxidants that have bone protective qualities, so they can help stimulate bone regeneration and strengthening.

Limit Alcohol

Alcohol impacts all parts of our health, and the health of bones is no exception.

Heavy drinking can lead to a decrease in bone strength, density, and overall health, so you should make sure to stick to the daily recommendations of no more than 2-3 drinks per day.

Quick Tips for Bone Health

Along with the major suggestions above, here are a few more tips you can run with to help maintain bone health and prevent osteoporosis:

• Don’t smoke – Smoking, similar to drinking is a known factor that can cause a loss of bone mineral density.
• Get tested – Many people don’t know that there are tests for bone density. This is a great option to ask your doctor about if you are concerned.
• Take medication – Depending on your specific situation, there are medications that can help with bone health. This is another options that is best to consult with your doctor.
• Vitamin K – Like Vitamin D, Vitamin K supports the health of your bones.
• Consider collagen supplements – This hasn’t been as widely tested as some of the other tips, but there is early evidence that collagen may help your bones.

ShoulderMD

Maintaining optimal bone health is essential when trying to prevent shoulder injuries, and all of the tips in this article can go a long way in ensuring that your bones remain healthy throughout your life. Bones are one of those aspects of our bodies that are easy to forget about, but the fact that you are taking the time to seek out information means that you are well on the way to a healthy routine.

If you would like to learn more about how to keep your bones healthy or would like to discuss your shoulder or elbow problem with an orthopedic surgeon in Seattle, please call or fill out our contact form. We look forward to helping you achieve and maintain total wellness!