Your Bones Support You Every Day. Do You Do The Same For Them?

What we eat plays a critical role in the proper condition of the musculo-skeletal system, which includes the bones. The right kind of foods supply the bones necessary nourishment to keep them strong and healthy. The right kind of food also serve as a preventative method for developing bone diseases such as osteoporosis. Certain foods provide calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium to sustain proper bone mineralization.  

The loss of bone mass is a process that begins around the ages of 40 or 50.  When this process of reduce bone mass and density reaches the point of bone deformity and bone fracture it is considered osteoporosis. The good news is that many factors can prevent osteoporosis and even put to a stop the process of bone mass loss regardless of age. On the other hand, there are other factors that encourage bone mass loss. Let’s learn more about these two opposing factors dealing with bone health and bone deterioration. The foods that help the bones is what I will refer to as “Bone Supportive Foods” and the foods that contribute to bone deterioration I will refer to as “Bone Oppositive Foods.”  Here are some examples:

✔ Bone Supportive Food: Calcium is one of the most important minerals in bone formation. Some foods that provide absorbable calcium are oranges, cabbage and almonds.

X Bone Oppositive Food: Meat and meat derivatives. A diet rich in meat helps generate osteoporosis, encourage urinary calcium loss, and makes the body more acidic.  

✔ Bone Supportive Food: Sesame seeds. It is one the highest source of calcium. They help bones grow strong and healthy. They also contain antioxidants that help prevent bone inflammation. 

X Bone Oppositive Food: Refine sugar. It has virtually no minerals and it reduces the deposits of calcium in the bones.

✔ Bone Supportive Food: Sprouts. They increase bone formation and density and prevent osteoporosis. Sprouts are a good source of easily absorbable calcium and other minerals.

X Bone Oppositive Food: Soft drinks like cola contain phosphoric acid and sugar, which leads to calcium loss.

✔ Bone Supportive Food: Molasses. They are very rich in calcium and magnesium. Molasses is an ideal sweetener for the prevention of osteoporosis.

X Bone Oppositive Food: Chocolate is harmful to bone health because it contains sugar, fat, and oxalic acid which are all demineralizing to the bones. Another robber of calcium is coffee. Not only does it reduce calcium absorption, but it also depletes the body of calcium by eliminating it through the urine. 

Let’s eat more of the foods to support the health of our bones!

Fun Fact:

In general, stalks and leaves vegetables are rich in the minerals that build bone tissue and are recommended for osteoporosis and other calcium deficiencies. 

Did You Know?

Chickpeas contain more calcium than milk.