Last year, I was shocked to be diagnosed with osteoporosis, in fact I couldn’t quite believe it as I’ve been eating healthily for years – or so I thought. ?
I was encouraged to take calcium and vitamin D supplements, even though blood tests showed that I had healthy levels of both – so what was going on?
After further research I discovered that not only was it important to ensure you’re eating enough protein every day [think minimum 1g per kg of body weight], but there are other key nutrients that are vital for strong, healthy bones.
Magnesium and Vitamin K2 are also important for bone health, they ensure that your calcium actually gets to your bones rather than just into your body’s tissues and arteries [which is damaging].
Weight bearing exercises are vital as they send a signal to your bones that they need to stay strong.
Eating an anti-inflammatory diet is also key, which means lots of different types and colours of vegetables and low-sugar fruits. This also ensures your gut microbes and immune system are healthy, both of which play a role in healthy bones.
So after a year of switching my exercise programme to 3 sessions a week of weights interspersed with HiiT circuits, as well as upping my protein and vegetable intake, and taking selected supplements………. I’m working on having reversed progression of my osteoporosis at my next assessment.
Let me know if you’re worried about osteoporosis? I’d love to know.