Many parents across the world encourage their children on a daily basis to drink milk, and lots of us indulge in the drink ourselves for our wellbeing to make sure we have enough calcium in our diets. Building strong bones is essential when we’re younger because after a certain age bone density begins to decline. Now new research shows that we might need to eat more than calcium to make bones as strong as possible.
Mid-30s decline
Once we hit approximately 35 years of age, our bones start to get weaker. This isn’t a noticeable process for most of us and we can generally fill at the peak of wellbeing despite weakening bones. But some of us suffer from very weak bones, and if bone density reaches a specific level we could even be diagnosed with osteoporosis. The good news is that if we ensure meals feature calcium and Vitamin D throughout our lives then our bone cells can make denser tissue than if we didn’t eat enough of these important minerals. As well as eating these nutrients, researchers from a collection of USA universities have now identified other minerals that could protect bones.
Protective Effect
The cells that make up our bones are called osteoblasts and a substance called osteocalcin helps to bond them together, contributing to our bone density. As well as helping to make bones denser, this protein also appears to help protect us from fractures, according to the new study. Researchers discovered that osteocalcin creates microscopic holes around stressed bone tissue, which actually helps it deal with pressure better. This finding is good news for osteoporosis sufferers who are looking to keep their bones as healthy as possible. Osteocalcin can be boosted in our bodies if we eat Vitamin K, found in spinach, kale and other green leafy vegetables. This means a diet featuring calcium, Vitamin D and K could be the ideal way to protect bone wellness.
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