Life is dynamic, and there’s no better time to celebrate its joyous moments of change than during the summer. Invitations, celebrations, anniversary events, birthdays, graduations, weddings, baby showers, and other occasions abound this season. As excitement and gifting peak in light of these milestones, it’s important to be aware of a foundation that helps make it all possible – healthy bones.
One of the most prevalent and debilitating bone diseases that impacts bone health is osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a skeletal disorder where your bones weaken, making them brittle, fragile, and more likely to break. It is one of the most common causes of bone fractures among the elderly, affecting millions of people globally.
You’re cordially invited to join us as we unwrap some of the secrets to promoting strong bones, offering you a precious gift of knowledge to help prevent osteoporosis!
Feast for Your Frame and Nourish Your Bones
As you celebrate and indulge this summer, it’s important to remember that a well-balanced diet plays a major role in preventing osteoporosis. Foods contribute to the health of your skeletal system by providing the minerals and vitamins necessary to maintain correct bone density and strength. Calcium and vitamin D have long been recognized as essential nutrients for optimal bone health and maintenance.
Calcium is an important component of your bone structure and is necessary for bone mineral deposition. You can meet your daily calcium requirements by consuming calcium-rich foods like milk, yogurt, cheese, leafy green vegetables, and mineral water enriched with calcium.
Vitamin D helps with calcium absorption and stimulates bone resorption (transfer of calcium from bone tissue to blood) to maintain calcium balance. Sources of vitamin D include diet, sunlight, and supplements. Some good dietary sources of vitamin D include fish like light tuna and wild-caught salmon. Other foods may contain added vitamin D, such as milk and some dairy products, almond milk, orange juice, and fortified cereals.
In addition, attending outdoor events and celebrations this summer is an exciting way to increase your sunlight exposure and get vitamin D. Just remember to be safe in the sun!
Move, Groove, and Strengthen for Vitality
Adequate physical exercise stops the loss of bone mass and helps prevent osteoporosis. Your bones require regular weight-bearing and muscle-strengthening exercises for them to strengthen and thicken. There’s no better time to become more physical than the season of celebrations. Dancing is a great weight-bearing exercise that can liven up all occasions while helping keep osteoporosis at bay. If you’re shy about doing the boogie woogie at the next celebration this summer, think twice! You can also participate in exciting group activities, such as brisk walking, jogging, hiking, bone-building challenges, and more.
Muscle strengthening exercises include weight training, bodyweight exercises, and resistance exercises. These physical activities help strengthen your bones as you share life’s joyful moments and build strong relationships.
Sparkling Soirees, Smoke-Free Serenades
Limiting your alcohol consumption is a great gift to your bones. Excessive alcohol consumption reduces your bone density and weakens your bone’s mechanical properties. These factors compromise your bone health and increase your risk of developing osteoporosis. Limit your alcohol consumption to two or three drinks a day at most. Or, celebrate this summer by quitting entirely. “Dry January” can become “dry July” instead.
Not smoking is also one of the best things you can do for your bone health. Studies have shown that smoking tobacco leads to lower bone mass and bone mineral density. It causes an imbalance in the mechanisms involved during bone turnover, making your bones vulnerable to osteoporosis.
Tobacco smoke also influences your bone mass indirectly by affecting your body weight and hormones and increasing oxidative stress on bone tissue. Second-hand smoke has the same effect. Smoking cessation reverses these effects and improves your bone health.
Learn About Bone Health and RSVP for Healthy Bones
Educating yourself about osteoporosis and other aspects of bone health is one of the best gifts you can give your body. Acquiring functional knowledge about bone health will help you adopt practices and make lifestyle choices necessary to maintain strong bones throughout your life.
Osteopedia is a comprehensive online reference list developed by the Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation (BHOF) that provides definitions and summaries of terms related to osteoporosis. The entries are arranged alphabetically, allowing you to readily access general or specific knowledge. Osteopedia covers everything from bone composition, medications, risk factors, osteoporosis treatment, and more.
The Resource Library is a collection of up-to-date educational resources on osteoporosis, including publications and videos providing general information regarding bone health. You also have access to resources concerning nutrition and physical exercises, which are crucial to the prevention of osteoporosis. Through the Resource Library, you get to learn about causes, risk factors, signs and symptoms, screening and diagnosis, prevention, treatment and management options, and prognosis.
Untie the Bow to Give Yourself the Best Gift of All
Overall, osteoporosis can be very preventable. With the right knowledge and commitment to better lifestyle choices, you can greatly reduce your chances of developing this debilitating bone disease. You can start by considering this celebration and gifting season as an important milestone where your journey towards better bone health begins.
We have given you the gift of some important knowledge about osteoporosis and bone health. We invite you to unwrap the secrets to strong, healthy bones. The million-dollar question is – what gifts are you going to give the vital structures that literally hold you up?