9 Tips for Joint and Bone Health
Sore and weakened joints and bones are perceived by many people as a natural sign of aging. However, if you apply effort, you can prevent premature wear. Prevention of bone tissue diseases should be done from a young age.
Content:
- Early prevention of joint and bone diseases
- Causes of bone and joint wasting
- 9 tips to keep your bones and joints healthy
Early prevention of joint and bone diseases
For a modern person, the problem of early aging of joints and bones is an urgent problem. Most people move very little, eat fast food, and have bad habits. In general, a variety of harmful factors affect the body every day. Therefore, diseases of the joints and bones are diagnosed even in young people.
The skeleton is the foundation of the entire organism. Thanks to bones and joints, a person moves in space, makes movements. Therefore, it is so important to monitor their health.
Bone and connective tissue is constantly being destroyed and renewed. Normally, a person does not even notice this.
Peak bone mass is observed before the age of 30. The body manages to create it faster than it is destroyed. After 30 years, the processes of its renewal slow down, and the processes of its destruction, on the contrary, accelerate. Therefore, various diseases of bones and joints develop.
Prevention of damage to bones and joints should be done at a time when a person is at the peak of his physical form. Then, when his metabolic processes are fast. This is the only way to slow down the aging of the body.
Causes of bone and joint wasting
People of the same age have a different condition of the joint and bone tissue.
The reasons can be very diverse:
- Women have more fragile bones than men. Their bone mass is 30% lower.
- Some people have stronger bones, while others are porous and thin, regardless of gender. This is due to genetic characteristics.
- Some people have dense bone tissue due to the fact that they ate better during childhood and adolescence.
- The injuries and injuries sustained affect the condition of bones and joints. The older the person, the stronger the echoes of the fractures, bruises, etc.
These reasons affect the rate of depletion of bone and joint tissues. When the degenerative process prevails over the process of bone repair, they begin to deteriorate.
Diseases of the osteoarticular apparatus in women most often develop during the postmenopausal period (over the age of 65), and in men over 70.
For almost all young people, menopause, age 65 and joint diseases seem to be something unattainable and very distant. However, adolescence passes quickly. When the process of bone destruction starts, it will be difficult to stop it. Therefore, it is so important to engage in the prevention of bone and joint diseases as early as possible.
There are factors that a person cannot influence. For example, osteoporosis develops faster if there is a genetic predisposition to it, if you belong to the Asian or white race. It is impossible to prevent the onset of menopause. However, timely preventive measures aimed at improving the health of bones and joints will avoid serious health problems.
9 tips to keep your bones and joints healthy
1. Take a family history
To understand how high the risk of early damage to the articular and skeletal system is, you need to carefully study the family history. If close blood relatives (parents, sisters or brothers) had similar problems, then the likelihood of developing the same pathology in a person increases.
It is not necessary to find out if there are any health problems during a family celebration. You need to ask this question to your grandmother or grandfather at the right time for this.
2. Taking calcium
Many people inextricably link the two concepts: "bone health" and "calcium". In fact, this mineral is necessary for bone tissue, muscles and nerve fibers, without it it is impossible to maintain hormonal balance in the body. Calcium provides blood pressure stability.
In New Zealand, scientists conducted a series of studies in 1995. They were attended by women in the postmenopausal period of life. It has been found that eating foods that contain calcium can increase bone density.
However, there are also a lot of studies that refute this information. For example, a 2015 study found that increasing calcium intake from food sources, as well as calcium supplements, increased mineral density by no more than 1–2%. Therefore, for most people concerned about bone density, increasing calcium intake is unlikely to have much effect. [1]
The best sources of this mineral were recognized:
- Black sesame - 1474 mg
- Processed cheeses - 760-1005 mg.
- Almonds - 273 mg
- Cabbage - 200 mg.
- Curd - 154 mg.
- Spinach - 140 mg
3. Taking vitamin D
Calcium cannot be absorbed by the body without vitamin D. Therefore, when eating foods rich in calcium, you need to eat foods containing vitamin D. Only their joint work allows you to maintain healthy bone tissue and renew its cells. [2]
Foods that are a source of vitamin D:
- Shiitake mushrooms.
- Tuna, sardines, salmon, herring, eel.
- Shrimp.
- Chicken egg yolk.
There are foods that are artificially fortified with this vitamin. The human body is able to produce it on its own. This requires the sun's rays. To support the synthesis of vitamin D, you need to sunbathe 3 days a week for 10-15 minutes.
In the cold season, residents of many countries are deprived of such an opportunity. Studies show that a lack of sunlight leads to the early development of bone and joint diseases. This problem is especially relevant for women who have started menopause. Therefore, you must additionally take vitamin D supplements.
4. Vitamin K for bone health
Vitamin K is believed to be essential for normal blood clotting. This is actually the case. However, it also helps the body produce protein, which is essential for maintaining healthy bones and joints.
A 2005 study in Japan on young rats found that vitamin K can have different effects on the body. It works well in combination with vitamin D to allow better absorption of calcium in the intestines. For bones to benefit from vitamin K, you need to supplement your diet with calcium.
Studies in humans have shown that vitamin K can not only increase bone mineral density in people with osteoporosis, but also reduce the frequency of fractures. In addition, there is evidence from studies that vitamins K and D synergistically improve bone density. [3]
Best sources of vitamin K:
- Parsley - 1640 mcg (only 2 tablespoons of parsley will cover the daily need for this vitamin)
- Chard - 830 mcg.
- Spinach - 483 mcg
5. Potassium for bone health
Potassium helps in the conduction of nerve impulses along muscle fibers and starts the process of removing waste products from cells. These facts are well known and scientifically substantiated. However, it has been found that potassium has the ability to neutralize acids that flush calcium out of the body.
In 2009, a study in Australia found that a diet high in potassium improves bone health. This applies not only to young people, but also to postmenopausal women. People who regularly consume potassium with food had an 8% higher bone density compared to controls. [4]
You can enrich your body with this microelement by eating foods such as:
- Dried apricots - 1717 mg.
- Beans - 1100 mg
- Raisins and Prunes - 860 mg
- Almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, pine nuts and walnuts: 474-748 mg.
- Bananas - 358 mg
6. Sports activities
Bone and joint health is impossible without regular exercise. Physical inactivity contributes to the development of osteoporosis and other severe bone diseases.
In 1998, a study was conducted in America. It was attended by young women who regularly go in for sports. It turned out that the density of their bone mass is much higher than that of those women who led a sedentary lifestyle.
A 2015 study found that physical activity is the most important factor in determining bone density. People with moderate to vigorous physical activity showed significant increases in bone density compared to people with low physical activity. At the same time, even if a person drank a lot of coffee and carbonated drinks, smoked, the density of his bones was higher than that of those who did not smoke, did not drink coffee, but did not give their body sufficient physical activity. [five]
To maintain the health of bones and joints, you need to swim, run, ski, and do race walking. Sports help prevent the development of many diseases, including osteoporosis.
Good athletic form not only improves bone density, but also promotes flexibility, dexterity and prevents accidental falls. They pose a serious danger to the elderly.
7. Moderate coffee consumption
Caffeine has a number of health benefits. However, it has a destructive effect on joints and bones. Drinking large amounts of coffee will negatively affect the body's ability to absorb calcium.
In 1994, scientists found that people who drink more than 2 cups of coffee a day suffer from low bone mass. They have a calcium deficiency in the body.
More recent studies have confirmed a 2-4% reduction in bone mineral density. This confirms that coffee has a negative effect on bone tissue, but this difference is not high enough to indicate an increased risk of osteoporosis and fractures. [6]
You can and should drink coffee. However, no more than 2 cups a day.
8. Moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages
If a person abuses alcohol, then he has a sharp decrease in bone mass. Under the influence of alcohol, the body ceases to normally absorb vitamin D.
However, moderate consumption of alcohol may even be beneficial. American scientists concluded that people who occasionally take small doses of alcohol are less likely to suffer from fractures than avid teetotalers.
Moderate alcohol consumption refers to 1 glass of wine a day for women and 2 glasses of wine for men. [7]
9. Refusal from cigarettes
In order to prevent damage to bone tissue and its early aging, you need to give up cigarettes. There have been many studies on the negative effects of tobacco smoke on bones and joints. They made it possible to establish that in people who smoke, calcium is absorbed worse, and bone mass decreases faster than in those people who do not smoke. [eight]
American scientists have shown that smokers have an increased risk of getting a hip fracture. [nine]
Links to sources
- Calcium intake and bone mineral density: systematic review and meta-analysis
- Vitamin D and Bone Health; Potential Mechanisms
- Vitamin K and bone health
- Dietary potassium intake is beneficial to bone health in a low calcium intake population: the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) (2008-2011)
- Physical activity and lifestyle effects on bone mineral density among young adults: sociodemographic and biochemical analysis
- Coffee consumption and CYP1A2 genotype in relation to bone mineral density of the proximal femur in elderly men and women: a cohort study
- Effects of beer, wine, and liquor intakes on bone mineral density in older men and women1,2,3
- The Effect of Tobacco Smoking on Musculoskeletal Health: A Systematic Review
- Tobacco smoking and risk of hip fracture in men and women.
Article author: Mochalov Pavel Alexandrovich | d. m. n. therapist
Education: Moscow Medical Institute. IM Sechenov, specialty - "General Medicine" in 1991, in 1993 "Occupational Diseases", in 1996 "Therapy".
