Dear Mr. Halloween: A healthy skeleton is created and maintained by a team of nutrients and good habits.
Our skeleton is living tissue — a healthy diet nourishes the whole body, including our bones. A skeleton becomes more dense throughout childhood, reaching peak mass around the age of 20 or 25. After that, our bones’ density declines. For women, after menopause, the changes in hormones no longer protect our skeletons and bone loss increases significantly.
Vitamin C and copper are two nutrients that participate in collagen synthesis. Creating collagen is the first step in making bone tissue — collagen is the foundation and minerals stick to it to create the rigid bone tissue. That’s why a baby’s skull is still soft — not all of the collagen has been mineralized yet. Vitamin C rich foods include citrus fruits, bell peppers and strawberries. Copper is found in organ meats, nuts and seeds, seafood and whole grains.
Calcium is like the star quarterback — it gets most of the attention for the work of the whole team. Calcium is important and is the main mineral that makes bones hard, but it works together with several other nutrients. Calcium is found in dairy, leafy greens and fish if you eat the bones, too. Calcium also plays a role in muscle contraction. If your diet is low in calcium, your body will leach calcium from your bones so that it is available at all times.
Phosphorus is the second most abundant mineral in the body and in our skeleton. It helps our bones to be hard. Phosphorus is found in protein rich foods such as fish, steak, nuts and seeds and beans.
Magnesium is a mineral that is multitasking all throughout your body. For your skeleton, it also helps create strong, healthy bones. Magnesium is found in black beans and spinach, oysters and … dark chocolate!
In addition to our menu choices, our exercise habits can significantly improve our bone health. Strength training, like lifting weights, push-ups and lunges put healthy stress on our bones. Impact exercise such as walking, running and jumping achieve the same positive stress on our bones.
One last healthy habit? Skip soda; the phosphoric acid in sodas can also leach calcium and magnesium from bones.
For more information and to make an appointment to work on your health goals, visit Grass Roots Nutrition, LLC owned by Holly Larson, Registered Dietitian. Visit Holly online at www.hollylarsonrd.com and follow her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/hollylarsonmsrd. Have a delicious, healthy day!
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