Bone and joint health are some of the most important aspects for healthy living; however, we often overlook them.
Did you know that 1 in 5 women and 1 in 20 men over the age of 50 will develop osteoporosis in their lifetime?
While genetic factors can play a role in this, most often it’s due to a lack of bone and joint support in your diet, as well as lifestyle factors.
Here are three things that you need to know to help keep your bone and joint health at their best.
1. Vitamin D and Vitamin K2
Vitamin D and vitamin K2 are vital not only to your joint and bone health, but to maintaining a healthy immune system as well.
Both of these vitamins are found in specific foods, which makes it very easy to have a diet that’s deficient in them.
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that can be found in fatty fish like salmon, and in other foods like egg yolks and fortified dairy.
While your body can synthesize this vitamin in small amounts from sun exposure, I don’t recommend that as your main source of vitamin D because of the damage and risks that constant exposure can cause.
Vitamin K2, on the other hand, is a water-soluble vitamin that is found in egg yolks, greens, and fermented foods like sauerkraut and kefir.
Depending on your nutritional needs and diet requirements, you may not be able to eat all of these food sources on a regular basis.
But ensuring that your body gets enough of these vitamins through diet or supplementation is vital to maintaining bone and joint health that will support you as you age.
2. Exercise
You know by now that exercise is important to your overall health. But more specifically, exercise is important to maintaining bone and joint health because your bones want to feel resistance.
As humans living on this planet, we’re constantly exposed to gravity. Your bones have evolved to get stronger with resistance against gravity.
When you exercise, you trigger this resistance in your bones, which tells them that they need to increase their density.
Some of the best types of exercise for your bones and joints include walking, dancing, stair-climbing, rebounding (jumping on a mini trampoline), and gardening.
This seems like good news, because many of these are pretty fun!
Ensuring that your bones are dense enough through diet and exercise will help create a protective buffer against future problems.
3. Smoking and Drinking
Smoking and drinking excessive amounts of alcohol can leach your bones of the necessary vitamins and minerals that they need to remain strong.
By now, the research is clear that smoking is bad for your overall health, and that goes double for your bones and joints.
Try to limit your drinking to very small amounts, or cut alcohol out of your diet completely.
If you smoke, consider quitting, which can greatly improve your overall quality of life and your bone health.
No matter where you are in your life journey, it’s never too late to change your diet and lifestyle.
Support Your Bone and Joint Health Today!
Whether you dance, garden, or walk, moving your body is one way you can help give your bones and joints the movement they need to support good health.
Ensuring that you’re getting enough vitamin D and K2 will provide the tools for your bones and joints to make themselves stronger.
Remember that good health can start at any age and that you’re not alone on this journey. If you’d like to learn more ways that you can improve your lifestyle, check out other articles and recipes here.
