Work Out and Bone Up - Your Bone Health
by Keith Morris
Great Thanks to Christina Pirello for allowing CyberMacro to reprint these three articles on the very important and often silent discussion of osteoporosis. I encourage everyone to get a subscription to Christina Cooks which is where these articles were obtained from. Please also take a look at our current forum discussion on osteoporosis.
This is not a story of tragedy but one of triumph. I had a family member who my family has no longer. She had become so frail that there was no stopping the inevitable conclusion of her time with us. She was someone who, at the age of 82, would bring food to the “shut-in Seniors,” as she called them (some of them 17 years her junior). When she was 89, she would tell her 92-year-old husband “If you don’t use it, you lose it!” She left us not because her fight was gone but because her frame, her bones, could not hold her. While natural lows state that all things must end, they also state that if one exercises consistently, things will become stronger over time. She understood this. At 75 years of age, she would not give in to the aches and pains of age; she would not give in to the decline of her reported bone density. “What do those doctors know anyway?” She would get on the living room floor each morning and do her exercises.
Physical strength is viewed by most to be muscle strength and muscle size. While this is partly true, it is necessary that the skeleton, the body’s superstructure, also be strong. It makes sense that if someone is strong, it also means that their frame is strong.
While all the benefits of exercise are too numerous to list here, it is important to highlight the positive and lasting effects exercise plays in the health of the bones. Just as the superstructure of a building denotes its fundamental outward architectural shape, height, and strength, so too does our skeleton define us. However, unlike buildings, our superstructures are not static and do not remain still. On the contrary, just as our bodies are made of living tissue, so are our bones. Bones respond to gravity and loads on their musculature; they repair, renew, and replenish themselves; bones live.
Every part of our body will replace itself, some parts faster than others. For example, approximately every 10 years, your entire skeleton has replaced itself. Contrast this rate to the replacement rate of the lining of the stomach. Because of the hostile environment contained by the stomach lining, it will replace itself approximately once every three hours. To illustrate the process of continual replacement of tissue, just think about your hair. It grows, and it is cut and trimmed, and it continues to grow.
Bones allow our bodies to move; they protect our important internal organs; and they act as a storehouse for the body’s supply of calcium and other minerals. The body holds only a couple or so pounds of calcium, and the vast majority of that is stored in the bones and teeth. Calcium is also utilized in the body for muscle contraction (i.e. electrolytes), including your heartbeat, the clotting of blood, and the process of nerve transmission.
Bone building continues into one’s early thirties; after this, bone break-down is dominant yet very gradual. The severity of the effects of the degradation are dictated by two factors: the amount of bone building which took place prior to the early thirties, and the rate of decline in bone mass and density. Most sources indicate that this process of degradation cannot be reversed; however, it can be significantly slowed.
Osteoporosis is the condition most think of when one talks about bone degradation and bone density. While this is not our focus, it is notable that this can be a serious, life-threatening affliction. Bones of some people, usually women, usually over 50 years of age, have become so brittle that the act of stepping off a step, or even a sneeze has caused bone fractures.
Understanding the basics is great; now, what can we do to combat this potential hazard for those over age 30? Don’t smoke! This habit robs the body of many nutrients, including calcium, because the body must combat this self-inhaled pollutant and its effects on the body.
If you must drink beverages containing alcohol or caffeine, do so in moderation. Remember, the dose is the poison. These too, rob the body of much-needed calcium. When the stores in the bloodstream have been depleted, your body will go to its storehouse of calcium, your bones.
Be sure to get enough calciurn and vitamin D through your diet. Take in calcium through what you eat, in addition to vitamin D. Please understand that without vitamin D, which aids the body’s absorption of calcium, the body will not be able to utilize the calcium that is eaten.
Take part in regular physical activity. (OK, you knew this was coming.) Walking (and the stress this activity puts on the bones) helps the body retain bone density in the lower back, hips, legs, and feet. To retain bone density in the upper body, throw in some weight-bearing activity. Please consult your physician before taking part in any program, but I would encourage you to exercise.
So would that person we discussed earlier. She lived a full life until soon after she turned 93. She taught me that wearing out is better than rusting out. She understood that you can’t turn the clock back, but you can wind it up again. Wind it up she did, and she managed to add a lifetime to her lifetime. May we all be as fortunate — keep winding.
(Keith Morris brings 17 years of athletic, physical, and mental conditioning experience to his company, Victory Quest. Mr. Morris is a nationally certified Personal Fitness Trainer and Sports Nutrition Consultant who specializes in weight loss for those over 25, athletic team development, and personal lifestyle coach.
Autumn 2001
Christina Cooks
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