Healthy bones are so important, but we don’t usually appreciate them until they start to lose their strength. Often, bone health suffers because people don’t understand what really makes lifelong strong bones. Although a focus on adequate calcium is important, two other keys to keeping our bones healthy are to eat a mineralrich, whole-foods diet and to keep moving with regular weight-bearing exercise.
Bone is dynamic living tissue that grows only during the first 25 years of life. During this time we build the framework that we maintain for the rest of adult life. Although not growing, adults’ bones are active and alive, with fresh bonebuilding materials constantly replacing old, wornout bone-weight-bearing exercise, such as walking or running, sends your bones the message that they need strength, which starts the bone-building process.
You need calcium, but minerals most critical to bone health besides calcium are Vitamin D3, magnesium, phosphorous, and trace amount of boron, zinc and manganese. For these Vitamins and Minerals, along with the right amount of protein, to successfully work, vitamins C, k, Bcomplex, and the essential oils omega 3 and 6 are necessary. This combination of nutrients maintains an acid-alkaline balance in which your bones stay strong and healthy. Eating a diet that incorporates a variety of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables will help you get a balance of these nutrients along with getting a safe amount of daily sunshine to make Vitamin D. Maintaining bone health with exercise and nutrition should be simple, but today’s sedentary lifestyle and fast food eating habits put us in a precarious position. And despite being a nation that takes more calcium supplements than any other society, we continue to maintain the highest rate of osteoporosis in the world. Something just isn’t working for us.
Part of the problem is that we eat a diet composed largely of nutrient depleted processed food. Another piece of the puzzle is that largescaled commercial farming methods have left much of the soul in our country mineral-depleted, resulting in foods that are deficient in minerals. It is now recommended by nutrition experts that almost everyone take a calcium-magnesium bone complex supplement to help ensure delivery of nutrients needed for healthy bones. A word of caution: Many commercial mineral supplements are contaminated with heavy metals. They are also poorly absorbed if not taken in a form your body can utilize. For example, calcium alone is not well utilized without a good balance of other minerals. It is important to take only pure mineral supplements of high quality and that have correct nutrient combination.
Remember, for a lifetime of healthy bones, follow three simple guidelines:
* Eat a mineral-rich, whole-food diet
* Do regular weight-bearing exercise such as walking or running
* Take a high quality calcium magnesium bone complex supplement
