This is an exercise blog but strong bones are important to ensure you do not cause a fracture if you fall. Make sure you are getting enough of the following nutrients (through a healthy diet is best but always consult a Doctor/Pharmacist before taking supplements).
Calcium
Calcium does quite a lot in the body. Not only is it responsible for building and maintaining strong bones and teeth it also is used by muscles to move (including the heart!) and for nerves to carry messages between your brain and every part of your body. It’s so important that if we don’t get enough in your diet then the body just takes it from the bones! This will weaken the bones even further (bone loss is faster than bone formation as we age) and make a fracture more likely if you do fall.
It is possible to take a calcium supplement (however always check with your GP or pharmacist before taking supplements because some can interact with medications) or you could get it from food.
- Dairy, including milk, cheese and yogurt
- Canned fish with bones, such as salmon or sardines
- Certain leafy greens including collard greens, spinach and kale
- Edamame and tofu
- Beans and lentils
- Fortified foods and drinks (for example, if you do not drink milk, ensure your milk replacement is fortified with Calcium).
Other nutrients are needed to help the calcium absoprtion and keep bones healthy.
Magnesium
Helps make sure the parathyroid glands, which produce hormones important for bone health, work normally. Magnesium is found in a wide variety of foods, including spinach, nuts ( Brazils, almonds, cashews) and wholemeal bread.
Vitamin K
Dairy products from grass-fed cows, liver, as well as egg yolks. Vitamin K is fat-soluble, which means low-fat and lean animal products don’t contain much of it. So try eating yoghurt and milk that contain a bit of fat (semi-skim milk or 100g of full fat yoghurt a day). Other sources of Vitamin K include fermented foods like sauerkraut, tempeh and miso soup.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body. Sunlight is the main source of vitamin D, since your skin produces it when exposed to the sun. However, as you get older, your skin gets less efficient at making it. Foods that contain Vitamin D include oily fish, red meat, liver and egg yolks
Government advice is that everyone should consider taking a daily vitamin D supplement throughout the year (again worth checking with your GP/Pharmacist first)
More information about how much fruit and vegetables we should be eating
Next free Falls Prevention Workshop is the 14th October 10-12pm at Bassil Shippam Centre, limited places so place ring 07785 747669 to book your place.
The post Are you getting the right nutrients in your diet? appeared first on Whole Life Fitness.
Helen
Having worked in IT in London for 15 years I was made redundant in 2009. I had trained as a gym instructor whilst working and decided I would rather spend the rest of my career doing something I loved than look for another job in IT. I furthered my qualifications with a Certificate in Advanced Personal Training from the highly regarded Premier Training. Many personal trainers are generalists covering all areas of fitness but I took the decision to specialise in the over-50s and therefore went on to do a CYQ Award in Functional Training for the Independent Older Adult Level 3. My focus is on overall health rather than fitness. I believe that making small changes can have a long term positive effect on health and well-being.
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