Most of us don’t normally pay much attention to our bones. It can be easy to make the assumption that bones are static and unchanging. But did you know that we replace our skeletons around every 10 years. That’s why it’s important to keep the health of our bones at the forefront of our minds, especially as we age. Good nourishment is key to strong healthy bones plus good exercise. Increasingly our modern lifestyles that put a lot of focus on sedentary routine, especially during a pandemic, make it harder for us to get enough of two very important ingredients for healthy bones: Vitamin D and exercise (predominantly weight-bearing exercise and resistance training). In fact, research suggests sedentary lifestyle in developed countries is a contributing factor to an increased prevalence of osteoporosis. 

Although the critical time for building good bone health is up to your mid twenties, it’s important to prioritise our bones at any age. It’s never too early to start building a body for life:

Exercise 

As you age, one of the best things you can do to help strengthen your bones is to stay active. Just 30 minutes of activity a day can help strengthen your bones and prevent osteoporosis. Exercise, particularly weight-bearing exercise (which describes aerobic exercises done on your feet that require your bones to support your weight) can help your body resist gravity and stimulate your bone cells to grow. Exercises to try include yoga, tai chi and walking.

 Nutrition

But regular exercise won’t help keep your bones healthy alone, you need a steady supply of key nutrients. Making sure to regularly digest these nutrients can be difficult and time consuming, which is why supplements with high quality ingredients have become increasingly popular. The right supplements will help you provide your body with the vitamins and minerals it needs for strong and healthy bones.

 But what nutrients do you need?

1. Calcium

It’s probably not a surprise to see calcium at the top of this list. When you think about bones and key nutrients, calcium is an obvious choice and it is the most abundant mineral in the body. Calcium is a major part of tooth and bone health, it makes your bones strong and dense and you can think of your bones and your body’s calcium reservoir. Unfortunately, that means that if you’re not getting enough calcium in your diet, your body will take it from your bones for the other important roles calcium plays in your body, like circulating blood, moving muscles and releasing hormones. Your body doesn’t produce calcium, which means you have to get it from your diet and not getting enough will leave your bones brittle and thin.

Calcium rich foods that should be included in your diet include dairy, leafy greens and canned fish. You can also top up your 700mg recommended daily allowance of calcium with The Naturality Lab’s Strong Bone Support which delivers a daily high dose of 532mg of highly absorbable calcium in a vegetarian capsule.

2. Vitamin D

We need Vitamin D to help the body absorb calcium so when we are short on Vitamin D, less calcium is absorbed from our food and our body takes what it needs from our bones, leaving them thin and brittle. Although we make Vitamin D from exposure to the sunlight, deficiencies in this essential vitamin are are common and food sources of Vitamin are limited for vegetarians. In the UK, adults are advised to consume 10mcg of Vitamin D daily. Our Strong Bone Support formula contains a daily dose of 25mcg. 

Studies have found that Vitamin D supplementation has been shown to decrease the risk of bone fracture. 

3. Magnesium

We need magnesium to convert the Vitamin D to its active form which helps us absorb as much calcium from foods as we can. Magnesium also supports the growth of new bone tissue. Several studies have found that when magnesium is restricted in people's diets, the risk of osteoporosis increases. The bones of people that have a magnesium deficiency are brittle and fragile, which increases the risk of fracture. 

Our Strong Bone Support formula provides 300mg of magnesium which allows for a dietary intake of magnesium sources such as legumes, dark leafy greens, nuts, seeds, bananas and dark chocolate.

3. Vitamin C

Vitamin C is used to produce the protein collagen which makes up our skin and joints and keeps our bones strong. It also helps our bodies absorb folic acid, which is another nutrient that helps keep bones healthy and turns food into energy. 

4. Folic Acid and Vitamin B6

Folic acid and vitamin B6 may help reduce osteoporosis. They are known to reduce levels of the amino acid homocysteine, and high levels of this amino acid have been associated with osteoporosis. More research needs to be undertaken to determine whether supplementation of folic acid and vitamin B6 can reduce the number of fractures. 

5. Manganese and Zinc

Essential for bone health, which includes both the development and maintenance of our bones. Additionally, when manganese is combined with the nutrients calcium, zinc and copper, it supports bone mineral density.

6. Copper 

Copper is a key component in the production of collagen, like Vitamin C. As previously mentioned, healthy bones need collagen, but our production of this needed protein decreases as we age. This reduction in collagen production can be correlated with a decreased presence of “copper peptides” in our blood plasma as we age. When these peptides are working optimally, they encourage blood vessel growth, help skin regeneration, stimulate collagen production and more. Essentially, copper acts as a conveyor that carries nourishing and restorative proteins to our bones.

7. Boron 

Vitamin D is essential for bone health because it enhances our body’s ability to absorb calcium. We’ve already mentioned why calcium is so important to bone health. Boron help enhance bone health by increasing how long Vitamin D works our bodies.

Other Considerations

If you already take a multivitamin, you may think you’ve got your bone health sorted. Whilst a good multivitamin will be a strong foundation for your overall health and wellbeing, it won’t necessarily target your bone health, in particular the calcium. 

So if you do take a multivitamin, we still suggest adding a bone health formula to your usual supplement regime. But instead of taking the recommended two-capsule dosage, stick to one-a-day to ensure you’re not over-consuming some overlapping nutrients.

 

Sources: McGraw R L & Riggs J E (1994) Osteoporosis, sedentary lifestyle, and increasing hip fractures: Pathogenic relationship or differential survival bias. Calcified Tissue International; Vannucci L et al (1930) Calcium Intake in Bone Health: A Focus on Calcium-Rich Mineral Waters. Nutrients; Laird E, Ward M, McSorley E, Strain J J & Wallace J (2010) Vitamin D and Bone Health; Potential Mechanisms. Nutrients; Castiglioni S, Cazzaniga A, Albisetti W & Maier J A M (2013) Magnesium and Osteoporosis: Current State of Knowledge and Future Research Directions. Nutrients; Swart K M A, van Schoor N M & Lips P (2013) Vitamin B12, folic acid, and bone. Curr Osteoporos Rep; Medeiros D M (2016) Copper, iron and selenium dietary deficiencies negatively impact skeletal integrity: A review. Exp Biol Med (Maywood);