Bone Health: Facts on Boning Up Your Bones

You have been told countless times that boning up calcium is vital to prevent bone loss in your later life. But have you been told how calcium affects your bone tissues, or why calcium consumption before your early years play a major role for ensuring your peak bone mass is met?

Imagine when humans do not have bones, they will just look like a puddle of skin on the floor. Ugh, how ugly! We can stand, walk, sit, climb, jump or even talk because of the contribution of the bones.

Statistic shows that 1 in 5 males and 1 in 3 females over the age of 50 will suffer an osteoporotic hip fracture, affecting 75 million people in Europe, USA and Japan (source: http://www.iofbonehealth.org/facts-and-statistics.html)

Facts about Human Bones

Before we go any further, let’s get some info regarding facts on bones. Over 206 bones build up a framework of our body, and they provide us the structure and support to keep our bodies upright enabling us to move easily while protecting our internal organs (such as lungs, kidneys, heart, liver and so forth). In particular, they occupy about 99% of the storage area of human body’s total calcium.

Do you know that human bones are actually 4 times stronger than concrete? They thoroughly renew themselves every 10 years. Your bones are not dead but they are living tissues consisting of non-living minerals (e.g. calcium) and living cells like collagen, in addition to a distribution of nerves and a blood supply. So, your bones are alive literally!

By undergoing a natural process called “bone re-modeling”, your bones break down and rebuild them self. This process occurs throughout your life. Both breaking down and re-building processes are very important to human health as they support new bones to be formed. In order to maintain bone mass, these two processes must be in equilibrium (balance). If breaking down activity is more than rebuilding process, it might cause bone loss. In short, when there is less bone breakdown, you will be able to protect your bone strength.

What is Peak Bone Mass and How to Reach Its Peak?

Peak bone mass is usually from age 25 to 30 and can last until around menopause. It is a period during which maximum level of bone mass of individual is achieved in their lifetime. When the peak bone mass is obtained the higher before age 20, the lower the chance of the individual to reach the fracture threshold after menopause. Well, this situation is normally genetically pre-determined. Nevertheless, many people nowadays could hardly reach their peak bone mass level in their lifetime.

In order to ensure that one’s peak bone mass is obtained, adequate calcium consumption during the early years plays a fundamental role. That means, before the age of 25, you should adopt a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating habits in order to attain the peak bone mass level. Other than healthy living, you should exercise regularly, stop smoking, refrain from alcohol consumption but take adequate amounts of calcium and other essential minerals your body needs for a better performance. Having said this, for those who already achieve peak bone mass, any excessive addition of calcium intake will not push your bone mass up.

How Age Relates to Bone Health?

Starting from age 30, your bones may begin to deteriorate! Once you lose the bone mass, it can never be reversed!

When you are still young, your bone re-modeling process is more than breaking down activity enabling you to build more bone tissues rather than lose them. But, by the time you reach the age of 20 or 30, your bone mass attains its peak level. The older you get, the more bone tissues you lose as there is more breaking down process than re-modeling process causing porous, thin and weakened bones. That means your bones become THINNER over time, and if this continues and your bones persist in thinning out too much, your bones become weaker and weakened; eventually leading to sudden bone and hip fractures.

When bones especially in the spine, wrists and hips become brittle and weak, it causes a disease called osteoporosis. This makes bones break easily. Osteoporosis is a medical condition of gradual and painless bone loss without even any symptoms and hence it is known as a SILENT EPIDEMIC. You will only realize the existence of osteoporosis after you experience a fracture either in your spine, hips, wrists or any part of your body.

What Should You Do If You Have Not Met Your Nutritional Requirements Before the Age of 25?

The ability of your bones to absorb calcium declines with age. Besides, age also reduces the skin’s ability to produce vitamin D despite sun exposure. This explains why an appropriate amount of vitamin D and calcium consumption during the early years is essential to ensure a lifetime of better bone strength.

For those who are diagnosed with osteoporosis and elderly women, high intake of calcium and vitamin D is very important. That is why calcium supplementation is of paramount importance. Similarly, those who do not consume enough amounts of calcium and vitamin D during the early years are encouraged to take the supplements. In regards to how much dosage of calcium you should take, please speak to your doctor. The daily calcium supplement intake varies from one individual to another.

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As always, eat well, stay well and be happy!