Taking your bone health seriously.

As I’m writing this I’m just over 30 years old and I have hit my bone mass peak. I have only taken my bone health seriously for a couple of years now. Are you taking your bone health seriously? I’m writing about this quite specific topic,  bone health because it needs to be highlighted. Bone health is important for both men and women however  women are at a much higher risk for osteoporosis ( brittle bones ). 

To clarify, you can have better or worse bone health even without it developing into osteoporosis. Up to the age of 30 the body can make more bone than what it loses. After that it loses bone faster than what it can make new bone. Hence why we will hit our peak bone mass at 30. Now the more bone mass you have at 30 the more bone mass you have to lose from, to put it simply. Taking your bone health seriously early, only have a positive effect.

Why you should take your bone health seriously.

• You are at a higher risk of breaking bones.
• Neglecting bone health from early years will have a negative effect later on. 
• Often the worry of breaking bones and knowing this won’t heal as well can have a significant effect on confidence.
• Might prevent you from being active.
• Will have a knock on effect on your physical and mental health.

What impacts our bone health?

• Unbalanced nutrition intake.

Lack of calcium in your diet will lead to weaker bones, bone loss and higher risk of fractures.

• Physical activity.

Bones like impact and resistance work. However I would not say the higher impact the better. And of course there needs to be a balance with physical activity, recovery and nutrition. But physical activity is one of the best ways to take care of your bone health. 

• Hormones.

Especially in women in menopause the risk of bone loss is much higehr due to a drop in estrogen. Low testosterone levels in men can also cause loss in bone mass. 

• Tobacco and alcohol use.

Alcohol affects both estrogen and testosterone levels which is linked to bone mass loss. There is also an increase in cortisol that will impact bone health in a negative way.

• Under eating 

This will of course have a big impact on loss of bone mass in both men and women. Remember that after the age of 30 we naturally lose more bone then we make. Under-eating will have a huge impact. 

• Certain medications.

Certain medications are damaging to bones, especially long term use. However if prescribed, most likely the positive benefit ought weight the negatives. 

Is it too late after 30?

Definitely not! Working on the points above at any age will have a positive impact on your bone health. The benefits of working on your bone health will of course have positive benefits on your health in general. 

Also I do understand that this seems like a topic for when we are 65+. But it’s not. How we live even before 30 will have an impact. This was a bit of a telling on my part, sorry for that, but it’s just too important not too:)