The importance of bone health.
We all know that bone health is important for various reasons
now.
But it really protects our vital organs from injury.
You know, it supports us, and allows us to move,
and do what we would like.
But it's also really our storage system.
So it really stores minerals like calcium and phosphorus
that really are released when we need them
when blood levels drop.
So peak bone mass age again, just as a reminder,
it's really about up to the age of 30 in women,
and really about 75% to 85% of our skeleton
is built during adolescence.
And then we lose calcium as adults.
So another reason to look forward to being 30.
We do need sufficient bone nutrients like calcium, vitamin
D, and really to build the best strongest bone, but really also
to maintain that bone.
So keeping bones healthy-- there's a whole slew of things
here--
healthy food choices, well-balanced diet is seemingly
very easy to say that--
eating foods rich in calcium and vitamin D,
your vitamin and mineral supplementation if and when
needed, exercise, physical activity,
and good health and habits.
So the nutrition part is really, part of it
is trying to hit all the food groups,
making sure you get all of these crucial nutrients from food.
That's what food gave us years ago.
As hydration, it gives us fiber, gives us vitamins and minerals
that we might not be getting anywhere else.
Really, your good nutrition is also
going to help maintain and support
a good healthy weight and your soft tissue, which is really
protecting your bones.
It's really not useful to focus on just a few nutrients.
One of the things I think whenever
I'm talking about any topic, people always
say what is the best diet for--
and you can fill in the blank.
So it could be arthritis.
It could be osteoporosis.
And really one of the main things
is always general good nutrition.
And so this is sort of if anyone's ever seen this,
I don't know if you have years ago, a lot of people
might remember the food guide pyramid.
And then it was replaced with something
that looked like a crazy pie chart, which every health care
professional kind of rioted about.
And then they switched it to this.
This is more user friendly.
It is definitely ideal and not necessarily super realistic.
But what it does show is, one, eating color.
Two, trying to get all the food groups as much as possible
every time you eat.
And I'm not going to necessarily say meals,
because if you're more of a grazer, fine.
So bone healthy foods, simply, it's
sort of dairy, canned fish with bones, fatty fish.
Those are unfortunately the three kind
of major food groups.
And if you unfortunately don't eat them if you're vegan,
then you have to figure out other ways.
So a lot of this--
I don't want anyone to walk away from this thinking
that I am a dairy pusher, but I am here
to give you information based on where the richest
sources of these nutrients are.
And then you can take it from there.
So your bone healthy foods, I mean,
this is sort of just kind of more in detail
sort of your dark green leafs.
There's a lot of color here, your fruit,
you know, potatoes, tomatoes, bananas--
you know, everything here has specific nutrients,
your calcium, your sort of minerals, and so food first.
It is the preferred, again, source
of nutrients for the body.
And it's vitamins and minerals.
And typically it does help with dietary patterns.
So if people are typically eating
a lot of fruits and vegetables, and they have some dairy,
and they have some beans, and low fat protein foods,
then typically they're usually in a good place.
And nutrient density just means that foods that you were eating
are pretty nutritious on a regular basis.
So the overall message regarding food
is really variety in moderation.
You know, trying to vary your daily intake.
Most of us are creatures of habit, and we usually,
if you think about yourself, most people
tend to have about four to five different meals from a lunch
perspective and a dinner perspective.
And even if you're going out to dinner
or going to certain restaurants, you
tend to go for a specific meal.
Most people haven't gone and tried everything on the menu.
So you really want to try to work
on varying your intake as possible
and trying to hit all the food groups if you can,
and really having calcium rich foods as they are available
and as you can fit them into your diet.
It's always diet, diet, diet.
That's how we promote any nutrient first.
And if you are unable to, then you would fill in the gaps
with supplements as needed.