Men and women need to be mindful of osteoporosis risks while dieting.
If you’re overweight, you probably already realize you need to shed some pounds in order to achieve your healthy aging goals. After all, obesity is associated with health risks that include diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Carrying extra pounds is also hard on your bones and joints, not to mention your self-esteem.
But what you may not realize is that losing weight can be harmful to your bone health—even if you exercise—as a new study from the University of Missouri reveals.
Bones are constantly being broken down and rebuilt. This requires careful coordination between osteoclasts (the cells that break down bone tissue) and osteoblasts (the cells that build new bone tissue). Normally, weight-bearing exercise such as walking or jogging helps to keep this process in balance by stimulating the osteoblasts.
However, if you are on a diet, your bone density will be reduced at an accelerated rate, because weight- bearing exercise will not enough to help osteoblasts keep up with osteoclasts. Instead, you may end your diet with reduced bone density and increased fragility, especially if you are already prone to osteoporosis due to age-related hormone decline.
Essential Building Blocks for Healthy Bones
You can protect your bone density while dieting by ensuring your body has enough of these essential building blocks for healthy bones:
Balanced Hormones: In both men and women, hormones play an important role in building and maintaining healthy bones. In men, the primary hormone involved is testosterone; in women it’s estrogen. Progesterone and DHEA are also important for healthy bones. At Renew Youth™, we can provide personalized hormone replacement therapy to ensure your body has sufficient amounts of these hormones.
Calcium: Bones are mainly made of calcium, so it’s important to get enough of this vital mineral. Dieters are often at risk for calcium deficiency because they avoid foods that are calcium- and calorie-rich like milk, yogurt, and cheese. To ensure that you get the calcium you need, you may need to take a calcium supplement.
Vitamin D: No matter how much calcium you take in, your body will not be able to put it work building healthy bones if you are low on Vitamin D. Since research shows that most Americans are Vitamin D deficient, regardless of diet, Vitamin D supplementation is important for most people. Ask us about our Renew Youth ADK supplement.
If you have any questions about keeping your bones healthy as you age, please contact us today.