When I was diagnosed with osteoporosis in 2021 I was quite shocked. I had been eating healthily for years – or so I thought. ?
I was advised to take calcium and vitamin D supplements, even though my blood tests showed that I wasn’t deficient - so I knew these weren’t key factors for me.
After further research, I discovered that it was also very important to eat enough protein every day [think minimum 1g per kg of body weight].
Plus there are two other key nutrients that are vital for strong, healthy bones. Both magnesium and Vitamin K2 play an important role in bone health. They ensure that calcium actually gets to your bones rather than just into your body’s tissues and arteries [which is damaging].
In addition, weight bearing exercises signal to your bones that they need to keep rebuilding and stay strong. Bones are not inert, they are living tissue!
I also found out that your gut microbes and immune system both have a role to play in healthy bones. This means that eating a diet rich in lots of different types and colours of vegetables and low-sugar fruits can make a difference too.
It’s now been 18 months since I switched my exercise programme to 3 sessions a week of weights, and increased my protein and vegetable intake, plus switched my vitamin D supplement to one that included vitamin K2. I don’t yet know what effect they’re having, but about to arrange another DEXA scan of my back to find out! I’ll keep you posted.
Are you worried about osteoporosis & bone fractures? Let me know.