Fresh salmon smothered with mascarpone cheese alongside crisply steamed brocooli sprinkled with almonds. Sound good? Even better when know these are the kind of foods that can give your bones the strength it needs to last a lifetime.

The second phase of the International Osteoporosis Foundation’s three year lifestyle campaign, is entitled ‘Bone Appetit’. Building on last year’s exercise-admonishing theme of ‘Move it Or Lose It’, good nutrition is identified as another cornerstone of helping to ensure strong healthy bones.

But, while a focus on healthy eating and its associated pleasures may seem a gentle way to ease into a painless old age, harsher realities must still be faced.

“The fact is that one in three women and one in five men over 50 who are struck with osteoporosis do not age gently at all,” says Tereza Hough, chief executive of the National Osteoporosis Foundation of South Africa.

“Their bones become porous and break easily, causing crippling pain, severe loss of movement, intense discomfort and, in many cases, premature death. A third of the elderly who survive a hip fracture never regain their previous level of independence.”

Invest in Your Bones

“However this year we are offering a respite from all the cautions by celebrating food, not just as body fuel but for its associated tastes, textures, sights, scents and shared joys,” says Hough, who launched IOF’s highly-comprehensive ‘Invest in Your Bones — Bone Appetit Report’.

“While good nutrition alone will neither prevent nor cure osteoporosis, when combined with other elements of a bone-friendly lifestyle – including physical fitness — it helps slow the rate of bone-tissue thinning and reduce the risk of fractures in both men and women,” she says.

The report, written by IOF’s world-renowned team of scientific advisors, focuses on the importance of a balanced diet rich in protein, vitamin D and calcium, the latter a major structural component of bone tissue.

It points out that, while milk and other dairy foods like yoghurt and cheese are the most readily available sources of dietary calcium, useful contributions are also made by certain green vegetables (e.g. broccoli and curly kale), whole canned fish with soft edible bones such as sardines and salmon, and nuts (especially almonds).

The role of nutrition in healthy bones:

  • Case studies in children and adolescents have shown that supplementation with calcium, dairy calcium-enriched foods or milk enhances the rate of bone mineral acquisition.

  • Adequate levels of calcium intake can maximize the positive effect of physical activity on bone health during the growth period of children.

  • Calcium supplementation has been shown to have a positive effect on bone mineral density in postmenopausal women.

  • Calcium and vitamin D supplementation reduces rates of bone loss and also fracture rates in older male and female adults, and the elderly. In institutionalised elderly women, this combined supplementation reduced hip fracture rates.

  • Fruit and vegetable intake is positively associated with bone density in a study in men and women. The exact components of fruits and vegetables that may confer a benefit to bone are still to be clarified.

  • Supplementation with both vitamin D and calcium, compared with calcium alone, reduced body sway in elderly women, suggesting that correction of vitamin D deficiency may improve neuromuscular function and reduce the propensity to fall.

  • In a study in elderly men and women, higher dietary protein intake was associated with a lower rate of age-related bone loss.

  • Good nutrition is an important part of a successful rehabilitation program in patients who have had an osteoporotic fracture. In frail, elderly, hip fracture patients this is crucially important, as poor nutritional status can slow recovery, and increase susceptibility to further fractures.

  • Anorexia nervosa can be a cause of amenorrhea (cessation of menstruation). The onset of anorexia nervosa frequently occurs during puberty, the time of life when maximal bone mass accrual occurs, thereby putting adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa at high risk for reduced peak bone mass.

  • Lactose intolerance has been shown to be associated with low bone mass and increased risk of fracture due to low milk (calcium) intake.

  • Moderate alcohol intake is not thought to be harmful to bone. However, chronic alcohol abuse is detrimental to bone health, with one of the mechanisms being a direct toxic effect on bone forming cells.

    • For more information call NOFSA on 021 931 7894 or visit www.osteoporosis.org.za
    RSS
    Digg
    de.li.cious
    facebook