Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Photo by Natalie Collins on Unsplash It’s common to think that bones are hard, lifeless parts of your body. But it’s actually the opposite – your bones are living and growing tissue. As both men and women age and reach peak bone mass, the balance …
Collagen is the most abundant protein in our bodies. It is found in our bones, skin, nails, muscles, tendons and ligaments. Think of Collagen simply as the ‘glue’ that holds us together. While our bodies naturally produce Collagen, by the time we hit age 25, …
It’s common knowledge that inactive individuals can have a higher risk of becoming obese and developing numerous conditions, including type 2 diabetes. But did you know that inactive individuals, especially teenagers, have weaker bones than those who are physically active?
According to the study performed at the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute by researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the Centre for Hip Health and Mobility, as much as 36% of the human skeleton is formed in girls between the ages of 10 and 14 and boys between 12 and 16 years old. Leigh Gabel, lead author and PhD candidate in orthopedics at UBC used high-resolution 3D x-ray images to compare the differences between youth who met the daily recommendation of 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day and those who got less than 30 minutes a day. Bone strength is classified by a combination of the bone size, density, and microarchitecture.
Researchers and authors of the study report that both schools and communities need to take steps towards helping children to lead a more active lifestyle. While any and all exercise is great for kids, weight-baring activities like walking, running, basketball and hiking may be best for their bones.
Bone is living tissue that is consistently changing, with new bone replacing old bone constantly. During childhood and adolescence, much more bone is being deposited than withdrawn as the skeleton grows. The amount of bone tissue in the skeleton peaks in our late twenties. Though Osteoporosis commonly occurs in older individuals, according to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, it can occur in both young and middle-aged adults. “Optimizing peak bone mass and developing lifelong healthy bone behaviors during youth are important ways to help prevent or minimize Osteoporosis risk as an adult.”
According to Nicole Crane, BS, NTP, of all bone nutrients, Calcium, Magnesium, Vitamin K2, Strontium, and Collagen are required in the largest amounts to keep your bones healthy and strong.
Approximately 99% of the calcium in our body is found in the bones, with the remaining 1% in blood to maintain essential life supporting functions like the beating of the heart, relaxation and constriction of blood vessels, nerve signaling, muscle contraction and other essential life supporting functions. Calcium plays numerous important roles in the body, including muscle contraction and hormone secretion, blood clotting and pH balance. An acidic pH will always lead to bone loss, as calcium is used as an alkaline buffer for blood. Many people either do not consume enough calcium, or consume poorly absorbed forms. You must be replenishing your body with calcium!
Magnesium influences calcium and other mineral metabolism in bone, reducing bone turnover and promoting new bone formation. Magnesium is required to transport calcium into the bones and for the formation of normal calcium crystals in bone tissue.
By far, the most underappreciated and most necessary nutrient for rebuilding bones is Vitamin K2. It has long been known that vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium; however, it wasn’t until more recently that researchers discovered that vitamin K2 is necessary to direct calcium into the bones where it belongs and away from soft tissues, including the arteries.
Strontium is one of the newest players in bone health. This mineral is more dense than calcium and shares a number of its bone functions. Most strontium, about 90%, is found in bone. This mineral gives strength to bone and draws calcium to the bone and encourages minerals to be deposited in bone. The more bone building activity that takes place, the greater the uptake of strontium into the bones. Strontium enhances the activity of the osteoblasts, the bone builder cells, while reducing the activity of the osteoclasts, which break down bone.
Ninety percent of the organic mass of your bone is made out of collagen. Think of the relationship collagen has with our bones as a relationship that a foundation has to a house. collagen is the compound that provides the framework healthy bones to occur.
Imagine stopping to smell a fragrant red rose and pricking your finger on a hidden thorn. Just a minor puncture, but your body goes to work immediately to stop the bleeding and quickly seal the wound. One of the major nutrients at work is Vitamin K, discovered …
Photo by Susanne Schwarz on Unsplash Dr. Patricia Pimentel Selassie, ND, CNS All of our muscles and organs are anchored to our bones. Our bones are not hard mineral sticks – bones are living organs, complex tissues that interact with all the other systems of …
Previous research has shown that intense physical exercise over the course of a year decreases bone mineral density in cyclists. During intense exercise the level of calcium in your blood drops for a number of reasons. As the level of calcium drops in the blood, the parathyroid gland, the regulator of blood calcium levels, senses this decrease and releases more of its hormone to release calcium from your bones, helping to maintain adequate levels of calcium in the blood but causing demineralization of bone.
Interesting new data has just been released from the University of Colorado. Male athletes were supplemented with 1,000mg of calcium and 1000 units of vitamin D thirty-minutes before or one hour after a timed 35 kilometer cycling exercise. Although calcium levels dropped in both groups there was less of a drop in the group taking calcium and D before the exercise. Parathyroid hormone levels that would leach calcium out of the bone were also slightly less with pre-supplementation.
Although this doesn’t yet prove that bone wasn’t affected to the same degree, taking the calcium before exercise leads to less of a drop in blood calcium which in turn perhaps will decrease the migration of calcium out of the bone.
Calcium is the most important nutrient for the bones, and it is often one of the hardest minerals to absorb. Approximately 99% of the calcium in our body is found in the boness. Many people either do not consume enough calcium, or consume poorly absorbed forms. The type of calcium used in supplementation must be well utilized by the body; They are easily ionized, or given an electrical charge, almost always completely broken down, have virtually no toxicity, and increase the absorption of not just calcium but all minerals. These include forms like hydroxyapatite and citrate. It is important to keep calcium away from certain minerals like iron and strontium, as they can bind together and prevent the absorption of each other.