Transition Hawaii

Hawaii Health

Nutrition

Bone Health

Bones, like all other organs, are living tissues that need to be taken care of to maintain their health and function. Bones are important because they provide structure to the body, protect the vital organs, and allow movement by anchoring the muscles. Bones are also "storehouses" for the minerals found within, the majority of which is calcium. Your body has other uses for calcium, such as for muscle and nerve functions. When it needs calcium for these other functions, your body removes the calcium in your bones. What is removed can be replaced with the minerals you get from the foods you eat. But if you don't eat enough calcium-rich foods and replace what is taken from your bones, they will constantly weaken.

Teens who don't build their bones during the critical growing years can never make it up.

In childhood and adolescence, your bones build at a very rapid rate. As you grow, your bones become longer and as a result, you get taller. Your bones also grow denser and stronger, but how strong they become depends on what you do to maximize bone building during this time (we'll come back to this). As you get older and move out of the teen years, the rate of bone growth slows down. At around age 30 to 35, the bone building stops and you reach what is known as your "peak bone mass." This is the strongest your bones will ever become, as you can no longer add new bone. In fact, the opposite starts to happen - from this point on, as you age, you will slowly lose bone density. All you can do is try to maintain the bone mass that you already have. You're going to lose bone as you age, so you want to build up as much mass as possible to minimize bone loss that will occur later on in life.

What happens if you don't maximize your bone mass when you're young?

Have you ever seen a permanently hunched-over senior citizen, or heard about a kupuna falling and breaking a hip? All this is a result of a bone disease called osteoporosis. Osteoporosis means "bones full of holes," which basically summarizes what it is. Fragile bones can break with minimal impact like falling, or even just bending over. I'm not talking about just breaking arms, legs, ribs, or hips. Even the spine can collapse on itself and cause the notorious "hunchback" you see in many elderly adults.

Maximize bone mass and prevent osteoporosis!

Get enough calcium and vitamin D in your diet. The human body needs 1,300 mg of calcium per day, if you're between the ages of 9 to 18. That's roughly three to four cups of milk per day. Good sources of calcium include milk, yogurt, cheese, fish with edible bones, tofu made with calcium (check the label), soybeans, and some green leafy vegetables. Many foods such as orange juice, breads, and cereals have added calcium, which are good alternatives. Have you ever wondered why milk is fortified with vitamin D? Vitamin D helps your body absorb and use the calcium from foods. Besides being in certain foods, vitamin D is also produced by your skin when you're out in the sun.

Be physically active - work that body!

Activities that place weight on your bones such as strength training, jumping rope, and running are ideal; but really, any activity does a body good. Try to get anywhere between 30 to 60 minutes of activity each day. When you put stress or weight on your bones, your body compensates by trying to make your bones stronger, so it adds new cells to help strengthen your bones.

Just say no! Avoid tobacco and alcohol.

Smoking and drinking alcohol have been linked to increasing your risk for developing osteoporosis (and a number of other things!). It's a no-brainer! These are not good habits to start or continue for overall health.

The decisions you make today will affect your quality of life in the future - no doubt. Be smart about the nutrition decisions you make for a healthier future you!