As we get older, our bones will slowly become brittle and will have a harder and slower time recovering in the event of an injury. So, it’s important for everyone to keep their bones healthy. You can start as early as your 20s to ensure that your bones stay healthy and strong as you age. However, it isn’t just age that affects your bone health. Your lifestyle choices can also impact how well your bones age.
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Bone Health and You: Terrible Habits You Need to Avoid
Healthy bones are the foundation of a healthy body. But did you know that our habits and way of life can affect the health of our bones as well? In reality, our bones simply adjust to our lifestyle choices, growing stronger the more we move around and degrading when we don’t. But did you know that following an unhealthy lifestyle, however, could also have a negative impact on bone health? So, here are some of the bad lifestyle habits you should consider changing or removing.
Living a Sedentary Life
Sedentary individuals have been discovered to have a higher risk of bone thinning and bone loss as they age. This is due to the fact that exercise and regular physical activity make your bones stronger. Staying fit and healthy helps you build your bones since, like your muscles, bones also become denser and stronger with movement because they were made to move.
Exercise is known to promote the general health of bones and increase bone density. However, you must engage in weight-bearing workouts like stair climbing or weight lifting to make sure that your bones get stronger through activity. This is due to the fact that some physical activity, such as biking, might not be the best for bone health.
Smoking
Smokers have decreased bone density levels because smoking produces dangerous compounds like free radicals, which destroy the bone-building cells. Therefore, if you smoke frequently, it will be difficult for your body to create new, healthy bone structure.
Smoking destroys bone-building cells while also increasing the production of cortisol, which weakens the bone. Smoking also extends the time it takes for your bones to recover and makes them more brittle.
Too Much Alcohol Intake
Alcohol increases the body’s synthesis of cortisol, much like smoking does. Additionally, regular alcohol consumption decreases your levels of testosterone and estrogen, causing you to further deteriorate your bones.
Your bones’ bone density will diminish if you drink alcohol. Additionally, drinking increases your likelihood of falling over and breaking a bone since it makes you drowsy and sloppy. Overall, drinking and smoking are detrimental to your overall health as well as your bones.
Not Getting Enough Sunlight
The sun is great for a multitude of reasons. It helps plants grow, keeps you warm, and is overall a great benefit for everyone. It is also one of the best sources of vitamin D. When you are in the sun, your body makes vitamin D which aids in the body’s absorption of calcium. Even a short period of time in the sun can improve bones and ligaments and improve bone mineral density. Without enough vitamin D, your bones deteriorate and become more fragile.
Your bones aren’t the only thing that benefits from the rays of the sun either. Your skin, and immune system all make use of vitamin D to keep you up and running. So avoiding the sun can be a big problem for you in the future in more ways than one.
However, there are some people who are unable to go under the sun for prolonged periods of time. These individuals either can’t take the sun’s rays, are unable to effectively convert the UV rays into vitamin D, or simply don’t have the time to get a healthy amount of sun. In these situations, supplements like the ones from Nature’s Blend can help cover up for the deficiency you might have.
Final Thoughts
Bone health is incredibly important. So, even if you’re still young, it’s best to start to think about your lifestyle choices that could potentially damage your bone health in the long run.