The bones in our bodies literally hold up our complete structure. Our bodies would be wobbly and extremely dysfunctional without solid bones and joints. Strong, healthy bones and joints support you and allow you to move. They protect your brain, heart, and other organs from injury. It is our responsibility to guard our bones by working out and eating right. In this blog, we share with you a few lifestyle changes that will go a long way in helping you build and maintain strong bones and joints. Here’s how you can adopt a ‘bone healthy’ lifestyle.
You must note that this is a generic blog, and the content here applies only to those who don’t suffer from specific ailments. If you have a severe underlying condition, it is best to consult a doctor with the required medical expertise to guide you. We hope you find this read insightful!
Eat well - don’t starve yourself:
For all you intermittent fasting fanatics – fasting is not what we’re talking about. We are talking about the latter, which leads to a drop in your energy levels.
Dropping your food intake to extremely low levels is never a good idea.
Fasting, on the other hand, positively affects bone health. A Journal of Bone Metabolism study found that fasting improves bone health due to the secretion of the parathyroid hormone (PTH), which promotes calcium and phosphate metabolism and remodels the bone.
Trade cigarettes for strong bones:
Fig: A weak, unhealthy skeleton throwing cigarettes away
Smoking is a nasty habit. For a cheap dopamine hit, smokers open the gates to lung and heart diseases, diabetes, bronchitis, and the topic of the day – weak bones. Smoking tobacco can cause a plaque build-up in your arteries called “Atherosclerosis,” which restricts blood supply to different body parts, including the bones. Over time, the reduced blood supply reduces the amount of oxygen and nutrients your cells receive, which weakens your bones.
The good news, though, is this – you can reverse the effects of smoking by quitting (at any stage of your life). Start by quitting smoking, consuming a well-balanced, calcium and vitamin D-rich diet, and staying active. This will go a long way in helping you recover from the damage smoking has done to your system. It’s never too late!
Build strength with exercise
Some weight training exercises involve using your own body weight, for e.g., push-ups, pull-ups, planks, etc., while others require dumbbells and other machines, such as chest presses, shoulder presses, leg presses, etc., to stimulate different body parts.
These are great for healthy people looking to build muscle, bones, and overall strength. However, if you have a serious underlying condition such as Osteoporosis, you should engage yourself with low-impact exercises such as elliptical machines, stair-step machines, etc.
Sleep like a baby
Sleep is the only time our body gets to rest, recover, and recharge. Lack of sleep can lead to various health issues – both physical and mental. Sleep – also referred to as the third pillar of health, can make or break your overall state of being, and we believe it should be prioritized and scheduled.
When you sleep, your bones undergo bone remodeling, wherein old tissues are discarded, and new tissues are formed. This remodeling adjusts our bones to meet mechanical changes and repairs the damage done to the bone because of activity and wear and tear, thus preventing the accumulation of the old bone.
These were four ways to help you start a ‘bone healthy’ lifestyle. We take our bones and joints so lightly; apart from consuming a bunch of calcium supplements, most of us do nothing to support bone health. There is one point that we have reserved for the end of the blog, though – that of consuming the right supplements.
Turmeric – the Indian Saffron, is one herb that can help you build strong bones. In medical terms, it is referred to as a pleiotropic phytonutrient, i.e., it has applications in many areas. One such area is bone and joint health.
However, there is one problem with our kitchens’ regular turmeric powder. They aren’t easily absorbed by the body, and we don’t consume them in the right dose. Nature & Thought’s Golden Hug solves these problems for you.
With just a single daily dose, we have developed a formulation of turmeric that is clinically validated to help you build stronger bones and joints. Not just that, it is also clinically validated to help your muscles recover faster post-workout.
Head to our product page, grab a pack today and start a journey towards stronger bones – one dose, one day at a time!
Content references:
- Moacir Couto de Andrade Júnior (2017) Metabolism during Fasting and Starvation: Understanding the Basics to Glimpse New Boundaries. J Nutr Diet 1:e102.
- Ref: Kueper J, Beyth S, Liebergall M, Kaplan L, Schroeder JE. Evidence for the adverse effect of starvation on bone quality: a review of the literature. Int J Endocrinol. 2015;2015:628740. doi: 10.1155/2015/628740. Epub 2015 Feb 24. PMID: 25810719; PMCID: PMC4355339.
- Ref: Devlin MJ. Why does starvation make bones fat? Am J Hum Biol. 2011 Sep-Oct;23(5):577-85. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.21202. Epub 2011 Jul 25. PMID: 21793093; PMCID: PMC3169094.
- Castillo M. The 3 pillars of health. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2015 Jan;36(1):1-2. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A4025. Epub 2014 Jun 12. PMID: 24924551; PMCID: PMC7965916.
- Swanson CM, Kohrt WM, Buxton OM, Everson CA, Wright KP Jr, Orwoll ES, Shea SA. The importance of the circadian system & sleep for bone health. Metabolism. 2018 Jul;84:28-43. doi: 10.1016/j.metabol.2017.12.002. Epub 2017 Dec 9. PMID: 29229227; PMCID: PMC5994176.
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- NIH Osteoporosis And Related Bone Diseases National Resource Center
- WebMD
- Freepik
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