With 2010 just around the corner, you’re probably being bombarded with all kinds of New Year’s resolutions advice. From women’s magazines to TV talk shows, you’re hearing that in 2010 you should turn over a new leaf and vow to (choose one) lose weight, exercise more, revitalize your relationship with your spouse, de-stress, build your assertiveness skills…
Well, here’s another choice for your top 2010 New Year’s resolution:
I vow to do everything I can to keep my bones healthy throughout my lifetime.
After your early to mid-30s, your bones naturally lose some of their density. But that doesn’t mean osteoporosis is inevitable. Here are 10 things you can do to keep your healthy bones strong, and to prevent yourself from future osteoporosis and possible debilitating fractures.
1) Exercise regularly. Blah, blah, blah… Sorry, it’s true – exercise is SO good for you in SO many ways, you’re crazy not to get out there and shake a leg. Whether you’re a 20-something playing pickup basketball, a middle-ager going for a daily jog, or a senior taking your daily constitutional, exercise puts positive pressure on your bones, which encourages greater density. You know what Nike says: Just do it.
2) Get some sun – but not too much. About 10 minutes a day (or 15-20 minutes several times a week), without sunscreen, is the compromise nutritionists and skin-cancer specialists have agreed upon. Sunlight triggers your body’s production of vitamin D, and vitamin D is essential to calcium absorption, which is crucial to good bone health.
3) Supplement your exposure to sunlight with sufficient vitamin D in your diet. While the current government recommendation for vitamin D is 400IU daily, it’s an accepted fact that new guidelines, to be released next year, will advise a much higher daily dose. A recent study disclosed that fully 70% of Americans are vitamin D deficient; we’ve got some catching up to do.
So, how do you get sufficient vitamin D into your diet? Eggs, saltwater fish, and vitamin D-fortified milk, juice, and cereal are all good sources. As are vitamin D supplements, which are often paired with calcium supplements. Caltrate 600-D (and its generic knockoffs) offers 600mg calcium paired with 400IU vitamin D, both in tablet and chewable form.
4) Speaking of calcium, make sure you’re getting at least 1,000mg a day, and preferably 1,500mg as you get older. 10 Easy Ways to Add Calcium to Your Diet will give you lots of helpful strategies for making sure you reach that daily calcium threshold.
5) If you possibly can, avoid corticosteroids. These anti-inflammatories, including drugs like prednisone, promote calcium loss through your urine; and decrease calcium absorption. They absolutely increase and accelerate bone loss.
If you have a serious allergy, asthma, arthritis, or an autoimmune disease, you may be forced to take these drugs. But if your doctor recommends a corticosteroid drug for a less serious illness, think twice. If you have to take it, use the lowest dose possible, for the shortest amount of time.
