It's Not all About the Muscle

Like muscle, bone is living tissue that responds to exercise by becoming stronger. Young women and men who exercise regularly generally achieve greater bone mineral density (BMD) and strength than those who do not. Women and men older than the age of 20 can help prevent BMD loss with regular exercise and a balanced diet. Exercising can also help us to maintain muscle strength, coordination and balance which, in turn, helps to prevent falls and related fractures.

In order to keep bones strong, you need to combine:

-              Weight-bearing activities with impact (like walking or running)

-              Muscle-strengthening exercises

Through resistance training, stress is placed on your bones via muscle contractions. This stress causes adaptations, leading to increased bone strength over time. Like training your muscles, variety in how you exercise is best.

Specific illnesses, the menopause, tobacco and high alcohol consumption can all affect your bone strength but a nutrition plan rich in calcium and vitamin D will help to strengthen bones.

Figure 1. Shows the difference between active and sedentary populations in regards BMD. (International Osteoporosis Foundation – 2005 Invest in Your Bones Report ‘Move it or Lose it.’)

A balanced diet is a great way to ensure you are looking after your bones. Calcium functions help to build strong bones and teeth, regulate muscle contractions including your heart, and help the normal clotting of blood. Vitamin D helps your body to absorb the calcium.

You need around 700mg of calcium a day which you can consume through a balanced diet.

In the UK, we get most of our vitamin D from March through to September, due to the longer periods of sun and exposure to UVB rays. During the winter, the sun doesn’t contain as many UVB rays, so we have to look elsewhere for vitamin D sources, such as in our diets - see the table on the right for some great examples.

PH Therapy – Add life to years & years to your life