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| Habits That Are Bad For Your Bones |
We tend to pay less attention to our bone health, as bone-related problems are considered aging problems. Most people are not aware that small daily habits make them prone to bone disorders. Even if you do not feel the result now, you will definitely have to face the consequences later.
We depend on our bones to protect our organs, store minerals and help
our bodies move. For this reason, good bone health is vital to our overall
health and well-being. Unfortunately, a series of lifestyle choices can put our
bones at risk, causing them to become weak and brittle over time. The result
can be conditions such as osteoporosis or broken bones.
To keep your bones healthier, avoid these common habits that have been shown to be just plain bad for your bones.
The habits that can damage your bones are:
1) Spending
A Lot Of Time Indoors
Vitamin D is essential for bone health as it helps the body absorb calcium. It is produced by the body after exposure to sunlight, so those who spend a lot of time indoors can end up deficient in vitamin D. We all know that sunlight is essential for vitamin D and how important vitamin D is to our bones. Vitamin D protects bones and helps the body absorb calcium. When exposed to sunlight (more specifically, UV B), your skin produces vitamin D from cholesterol. According to the American National Osteoporosis Foundation, adults (under the age of 50) need 400 to 800 IU of vitamin D a day and those over 50 need 800 to 1000 IU. Just 15 minutes in the sun several times a week can help your body produce enough Vitamin D. Human body can produce 10,000 IU to 20,000 IU of vitamin D by staying in sun for just 20 minutes. Therefore, if you are not getting enough vitamin D from the sun, adding fortified cereals, juices, and milk to your meal can also help.
2)
Being Sedentary
Our bodies were designed to move! Too much time sitting, lying down, or just being inactive is clearly bad for your bone health. Exercise is known to increase bone density and improve overall bone health. However, not all exercises are the same when it comes to strengthening bones or preventing osteoporosis (loss of minerals). It should include weight training to reduce the risk of osteoporosis. There are many studies showing that regular weight training, such as resistance training, and running, increase strength and bone density. One study found that older women reduced their risk of hip fracture by more than 40% by exercising with weight training exercises just four hours a week. Pilates, hiking, yoga, and even gardening are great exercises that can be incorporated into your workouts. Not only exercise but also lack of physical activity weakens the bones. When you move, you strengthen your bone, in addition to strengthening your muscles. Instead of sitting in front of your TV, keep moving. Dance, run, walk or do whatever you want, but do not stay lazy. Staying in the same position for a long time prevents proper blood flow and tires the muscles and joints.
3) Smoking
Cigarette smoking has long been known to have harmful effects on the body, contributing to problems like heart disease and lung cancer. Research has also shown that cigarette smoking has a significant effect on the bones that make up your skeleton. Several studies have linked smoking to osteoporosis. Cigarette smoking slows down the body’s ability to build new and healthy bone tissue, weaken them, make them porous, and make them susceptible to fractures. Women who smoke often produce less estrogen and experience menopause earlier. This results in greater bone loss compared to non-smokers. The more you smoke, the worse it gets. This means that long-term smokers are more likely to break bones and may take longer to heal. The good news is that suspension can reduce risks and improve bone health. Nicotine also reduces the blood supply to the joints, increasing the risk of joint problems for smokers.
4)
Lack Of Sleep
Lack of sleep in your life can not only affect proper growth but also contribute to aging. Lack of sleep can affect your bone health too. Rest is an essential biological need. Most of us have a laid-back attitude when it comes to sleep. But disturbed sleep has a huge impact on our health. Studies have linked sleep apnea, a type of sleep problem with bone problems. Sleeping five hours or less per night is associated with lower bone density (BMD) and an increased likelihood of osteoporosis, according to findings from the largest study on sleep and BMD to date among postmenopausal women in the United States. Less than recommended sleep every night is also said to affect the bone marrow, which can reduce bone flexibility. Bone flexibility is important to prevent fractures. A study also showed that lack of sleep could affect the formation of new bones. Researchers observed that lack of sleep in the rats stopped bone formation and bones also continued to decrease in bone density.
5) Eating
Too Much Salt
The more salt you eat, the worse your bones will be. There is an absolute correlation between high salt intake and lower bone density. As your sodium intake increases, your calcium stores are depleted. Too much sodium causes the body to release calcium into the urine. A woman can lose up to 1% of her bone density each year by consuming just one extra gram of sodium each day. Therefore, avoid consuming processed and canned foods as they are rich in sodium. It's best to aim for 1,500 to 2,300 mg of sodium per day.
6)
Too Much Soda
Many sodas and fizzy drinks contain phosphoric acid. In
addition to the sodium in sodas, phosphoric acid can deplete calcium from your
bones. As the body tries to neutralize the acid, it is forced to pump
significant amounts of alkaline calcium compounds from our bones. A high
amount of phosphoric acid in carbonated drinks reduces the absorption of
calcium in the gut. So it is better to avoid them. Moreover, your kidneys suffer a
lot to process these carbonated drinks.
7)
Too Much Alcohol
Research has shown that chronic and heavy alcohol use can cause reduced bone formation, increase fractures, and delay fracture healing. Alcohol negatively affects bone health for a number of reasons. First, excess alcohol affects the balance of calcium, an essential nutrient for bone health. Calcium balance can be further affected by alcohol's ability to interfere with the production of vitamin D, a vitamin necessary for the absorption of calcium. Experts recommend that women drink no more than one drink a day and men no more than two a day.
8)
Bad Posture
You may be surprised to learn that simple posture errors can affect the health of your bones. It is essential to take care of our posture in general since poor posture can favor the development of bone diseases or even aggravate existing ones. Today, many people suffer from a common posture problem called forward head posture. This is the result of leaning forward on your phones, laptops, or desk at work. This pose stretches your muscles and can actually cause or worsen your osteoporosis.
This is a problem that can be solved and you can combat it by doing a simple exercise called Chin Tuck:
9)
Watch Out For Heels
There are no studies that confirm the
relationship between wearing high heels and bone deterioration. However, it is
true that when suffering from bone diseases, experts often recommend not
wearing heels or using lower ones. In addition, the use of heels affects our
body posture and our muscular system according to various investigations. Thus,
at the end of the day, we can feel pain and fatigue, even after years, we can
suffer serious problems. Therefore, it is best to choose a medium and more
comfortable heel. You sure look attractive with them too.
If you want strong and healthy bones, stay away from these bad habits and build good ones.
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