Healthy Bones Week

Every eight minutes, someone is admitted to an Australian hospital with an osteoporotic fracture. If we don't start looking after our bones, by 2021 this amount will double. The biggest problem is that osteoporosis (where the bones become fragile and more likely to break) is a silent thief, often progressing without any symptom until a bone breaks. However, the good news is that for many people, an osteoporotic fracture can be prevented or at least, the risk of fracture reduced.

Many of us think of bone as being solid, but its actually a living tissue that is constantly being renewed. Throughout life, old bone is lost and removed by cells called osteoclasts, while new bone is built by osteoblasts; a process of removal and formation that's usually balanced, thereby maintaining skeletal strength. However are we reach our peak bone mass (when our bones are at their strongest), our bone strength slowly begins to decline. It's this peak bone mass, and the resulting rate of bone loss that are the major determinants of osteoporosis development.

So to keep your bones healthy and help prevent the development of osteoporosis, follow my strategies for healthier bones.

Eat dairy: Dairy products or calcium-fortified alternatives are important for bone health, because 99 per cent of the calcium in the body is found in bone and teeth. The rest can be found circulating in your body, where it plays a tightly regulated role in heart health, muscle and nerve contraction, and clotting, Without adequate dietary calcium, circulating levels of calcium are maintained at the expense of our bones. Eat three serves of dairy products each day.

Drink milk in your coffee: The caffeine in coffee increases urinary calcium excretion and decreases calcium absorption, leading to a reduction in bone density. If your calcium intake is less than 750mg per day, a daily caffeine intake equivalent to about three cups of brewed coffee is enough to promote bone loss. However, research shows that this effect can be balanced out with a diet containing adequate calcium, as the body can balance out caffeine's effects by reducing calcium excretion later in the day. Make sure you're getting about 1000mg of calcium a day (in you're over 51 years you'll need more) and limit caffeine intake to no more than 300mg/day.

Limit your salt intake: Salt directly affects the amount of calcium our bodies excrete in urine. That means the more salt we eat, the more calcium we excrete. For every 6g of salt consumed, urinary calcium excretion rises by 20-60mg, which is quite alarming considering the average Australian consumes 9g of salt each day. Luckily for us however, our body has the ability to compensate for this form of calcium loss, by increasing calcium absorption in the small intestine. However, if dietary calcium is insufficient, then the amount of calcium absorbed is less than needed to offset this loss and the body takes it from the bones.

Resistance train regularly: Whatever you do, start resistance training. It will promote a slimmer appearance, stronger muscles and stronger bones. In fact, when it comes to exercise, bones are exactly like muscle: it responds by getting stronger. In fact, regular resistance training and weight-bearing exercise (such as running or walking) can reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis by 59 per cent (although it cannot reverse advanced bone loss). Include at lease 2-3 weekly resistance training sessions.

Enjoy a healthy, balanced diet: A lifetime of dieting is likely to lead to an inadequate intake of important bone nutrients such as calcium, which increases the risk of developing osteoporosis. On top of this, maintaining a low body weight reduces the mechanical load placed on an individual bone, which is a cause for concern because bone responds to mechanical stress such as body weight by stimulating the formation of osteoblasts - the bone-building cells - thereby improving strength.

Get outside more: Instead of sitting in front of your computer during your lunch break, why not go outside and soak up some of the sun’s rays. Why? Because UV rays are the best source of vitamin D – a fat-soluble vitamin that increases absorption of calcium and phosphorus in the gut, maintains calcium levels in the blood, and helps strengthen the skeleton. Without getting your daily does of sun, you are at risk of developing thin, brittle or misshaped bones, which leads to bone deformities and fractures. Exposing 15 per cent of your body to the sun for 6-8 minutes a day in summer or for 20 minutes in winter, will help you ensure you reach your daily vitamin D requirements.