Smoking, calcium and bones

It goes without saying that from the years from childhood until around 30 years old are prime time for building bone mass. This is the growing period where the nutrients from the diet will be used to generate cells, bone density and muscle growth.

One of the biggest things that can inhibit this is smoking. If teenagers start smoking, they will stop the development of maximum bone mass. According to osteopaths and bone specialists, he skeletons of a smoker and non-smoker are very different looking things.

Smoking continues to affect bone health in your 40s and 50s. Women that age begin to lose oestrogen, which counts massively towards bone growth. By smoking you speed up the process of bone loss, where calcium is taken out of its stores within the bones.

According to webMD, Cigarette smoke generates huge amounts of free radicals which are molecules that attack and overwhelm the body’s natural defences. The result is a chain-reaction of damage throughout the body — including cells, organs, and hormones involved in keeping bones healthy.

The toxins upset the balance of hormones (like oestrogen) that bones need to stay strong. Your liver produces more oestrogen-destroying enzymes, which also leads to bone loss, says Kaur (Primal Kaur, MD, an osteoporosis specialist at Temple University Health System in Philadelphia). “Smoking makes bone loss even worse in the menopausal years. It adds to the bone loss that’s already occurring.”

Smoking triggers other bone-damaging changes, such as increased levels of the hormone cortisol, which leads to bone breakdown, says Kaur. “Research also suggests that smoking impedes the hormone calcitonin, which helps build bones — so that hormone can’t do its job.”

There’s more: “Nicotine and free radicals kill the osteoblasts — the bone-making cells,” she explains. “Smoking also damages blood vessels, so there is poor blood supply of oxygen. People who smoke have repeated fractures. Studies show that when a smoker suffers a fracture, they don’t heal very well because of poor blood supply.”

Because smoking damages blood vessels, it also damages nerves in toes and feet, which can lead to more falls and fractures. “Smokers have double the risk of having a fracture. Heavy smokers increase the risk of fracture even more,” Kaur says.