It’s no secret that moving your body helps keep it healthy. But if you’re like most people, you walk right by the dumbbells as you head to the treadmill at the gym. In fact, evidence is mounting that muscles are more than just for show. Here’s why it’s time to add some push-ups, planks, and squats to your fitness routine.
Roughly 20 percent of women and 4 percent of men aged 50 or older have osteoporosis, or brittle bones. Another 50 percent of women and 30 percent of men 50 or older have osteopenia, or low bone mass. Here’s what you can do to protect your bones.
You can use the FRAX (Fracture Risk Assessment Tool) to estimate your risk of fracture, whether or not you’ve had your bone mineral density (BMD) tested. Go to sheffield.ac.uk/FRAX and click on “Calculation Tool.”
Many doctors consider prescribing medication if your risk of a major fracture (a spine, arm, or hip fracture) is at least 20 percent—or your risk of a hip fracture, specifically, is at least 3 percent—over the next 10 years.
"Those at most risk for the most serious outcomes of Covid-19, including hospitalization and death, are people afflicted by diet-related chronic diseases (obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease),” wrote the experts advising the government on the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
And that includes many of us, judging by our weight, blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol. Here’s a snapshot of the nation’s health.
“Bone health,” says CVS brand vitamin D, which comes in five doses—400 IU, 1,000 IU, 2,000 IU, 5,000 IU, and 10,000 IU.
Whoa. The Recommended Dietary Allowance is only 600 IU a day up to age 70 and 800 IU over 70.
Do your bones need doses in the thousands?
The VITAL trial randomly assigned 25,871 people to take 2,000 IU of vitamin D or a placebo every day for five years. Roughly 770 of the participants had their bone mineral density tested when they entered the study and again after two years.
What do you need to eat to protect your bones? Enough protein, fruits and vegetables, vitamin D, and, of course, calcium. Here are the basics on how much to shoot for, how much you get from food, and when to take a supplement.
What's the scuttlebutt on what some foods, drinks, or vitamins can do to you or for you? Here are five claims you might have heard or read about.
“Vitamin K2 is crucial for osteoporosis prevention,” claims Mercola.com (which will be happy to sell you a 30-day supply of K2 for $28).
“There are 11 forms of vitamin K,” says Sarah Booth, director of the Vitamin K Laboratory and of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University.
Leafy greens are good sources of K1. The other 10 forms, collectively called K2, are made by bacteria.
“We like to refer to a K2-rich diet as the Oktoberfest Diet,” says Booth. “Cheese, cured meat, sauerkraut. And natto”—fermented soybeans—“is also loaded with K2.”
Is vitamin K essential for healthy bones?
