Contents:
- Medical Video: Osteoporosis Exercises for Spine Strength and Posture
- Ways to increase bone density
- 1. Sports
- 2. Enough for protein and calcium needs
- 3. Enough for vitamin D and vitamin K needs
- 4. Eat food sources of magnesium and zinc
- 5. Eat omega 3 food sources
- 6. Maintain weight
Medical Video: Osteoporosis Exercises for Spine Strength and Posture
Bone is a living tissue, which consists of bone cells, nerves, blood vessels, and bone marrow. You need to know, bones always do destruction and then rebuild their own tissue, so that the bones remain strong and not easily broken. But for several reasons, bone density can decrease. If this happens continuously, it can cause osteoporosis. But don't worry because there are several ways you can increase bone density early.
Ways to increase bone density
Bone density can be influenced by many things, especially nutrition and activity. Therefore, by taking care of these two things, you are actually maintaining your bone health. Some things you can do to increase your bone density are:
1. Sports
Exercise is very influential on bone health. In fact, the more often you do exercises that suppress bones, the stronger your bones will be. This is why you are advised to exercise that gives weight to your bones (weight-bearing exercise) Examples of such sports are running, jogging, aerobics, jumping rope, dancing, and tennis.
In addition to exercise that puts a strain on the bones, sports that train muscle endurance can also increase bone density in some parts of the body. Examples of exercises that train muscle endurance are lifting weights and movements to lift your own weight.
2. Enough for protein and calcium needs
Protein and calcium are two important components for forming bones. Calcium is the main mineral in the bones that makes bones become sturdy. Meanwhile, one-third of the bone is composed of collagen (which is a protein) which gives flexibility to the bone.
A study has also proven that low protein intake can reduce calcium absorption and affect the rate of bone formation and destruction so that your daily protein and calcium needs are important for your bone health.
3. Enough for vitamin D and vitamin K needs
Both types of vitamins are vitamins needed to form strong bones. Vitamin D plays an important role in maintaining bone health, especially to help calcium absorption. You can get vitamin D from the sun as the main source so children are advised to play more outdoors so they are often exposed to sunlight, rather than playing inside the house.
Research has shown that children and adults with low levels of vitamin D tend to have lower bone density, making it more at risk of developing porous bones.
Vitamin K is needed by bones to help modify proteins involved in bone formation. This is done so that the protein can bind minerals in the bone so as to prevent loss of calcium in the bone. You can get Vitamin K from various kinds of vegetables, especially green vegetables.
4. Eat food sources of magnesium and zinc
Not only calcium, other minerals that are also needed to strengthen bones are magnesium and zinc. Magnesium plays a role in converting vitamin D into an active form that can increase calcium absorption. Meanwhile, zinc plays a role in supporting the formation of bone cells and preventing excessive bone destruction.
Food sources of magnesium are green vegetables, nuts, fish, and fruits (such as bananas, watermelons and avocados). While food sources of zinc are beef, shrimp, spinach, and oysters.
5. Eat omega 3 food sources
Omega 3 fatty acids can also help you maintain bone density. This is done by omega 3 fatty acids by helping to protect the bones from damage during the aging process. You can get omega 3 fatty acids from animal and vegetable sources. Fatty fish, such as salmon and tuna, are the best sources of animal omega 3. Meanwhile, omega 3 vegetable sources can be obtained from chia seeds, flaxseed and walnuts.
6. Maintain weight
Maintaining weight is also important to improve your bone health. Some studies have shown that low body weight is a major factor that causes bone density to decrease and bone loss. Meanwhile, being overweight or obese can also interfere with bone health and increase the risk of fractures.
