Bones, calcium and exercise

calcium-bones-abloomnova.net_-1-1600x1063 Bones, calcium and exercise

Bones, calcium and exercise are very closely connected. Not only do bones need calcium to grow and develop, but they also need exercise to strengthen them.

Keeping an eye on calcium intake is important at every single stage of someone’s life – from baby to old age. Failure to have a diet containing the optimum levels of calcium means risking the development of bone weakening diseases like osteoporosis later on in life.

When there is insufficient calcium in the body, the brain will send signals to the blood vessels to go to the calcium supplies in the bones to make up the deficit. While this is a good short term plan, and supplies lots of the mineral to the body when in need, it also means that the calcium stores will be relied on for more and more supplies – without adequate top up. This will lead to decreased bone mineral density which will become more and more severe as the body ages.

Bones are constantly in the midst of building and rebuilding, as the old bone cells die, and new cell renewal.

Load-bearing exercises to build stronger bones by stimulating cells responsible for the synthesis and mineralization on bones.

In fact, according to Mercola, weight bearing exercises are an excellent antidote to ward off osteoporosis:

“because as you put more tension on your muscles it puts more pressure on your bones, which then respond by continuously creating fresh, new bone.

A good weight-bearing exercise to incorporate into your routine (depending on your current level of fitness, of course) is a walking lunge, as it helps build bone density in your hips, even without any additional weights. Running and jumping are also effective, as is weight training.”

And according to the New York Times, ““Sprinting and hopping are the most obvious and well-studied examples of high-impact exercises. In one recent study, women ages 25 to 50 who leaped like fleas at least 10 times in a row, twice per day for four months, significantly increased the density of their hipbones.

In another, more elaborate experiment from 2006, women who hopped and also lifted weights improved the density of their spines by about two percent compared to a control group, especially if the weight training targeted both the upper body and the legs. Women whose weight training focused only on the legs did not gain as much density in their spines.”

 

 

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