A healthy diet is essential for strong bones, good health and longevity. Real, whole food provides a concentrated source of so many valuable nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, fiber, essential fatty acids and phytonutrients that our bodies need to fuel, maintain and rebuild itself. Luckily, nature pre-packages food with a variety of nutrients that work synergistically to benefit your body and your bones. This is why real, whole food beats taking individual vitamin supplements. When you have osteoporosis, it is important to load up your diet with foods that will benefit your bones, not weaken them.
Your daily diet can feed or starve your bones
Eating a diet high in processed food, like those that you can buy in a bag or box at the grocery store, starves your bones of essential nutrients. The refining and packaging of these food strips out the nutrients in order achieve extended shelf life. Processed foods are also loaded with refined sugar, salt, trans-fats and depleted of important bone building nutrients. Not only is sugar a highly acidic food, which can leach calcium from the bones, it can also lead to chronic systemic inflammation and oxidative stress that can affect the bone remodeling process.(1) Processed salt can do the same. Studies have shown that a high salt intake increases calcium losses in the urine, some of which will be directly taken from the bones.(2) Trans-fats are man made fats that are foreign to the body and hinder proper metabolism. Filling up on processed foods also leaves no room for the good stuff!
Feeding your bones with fruit and vegetables, healthy fats, and good quality protein is an obvious choice for optimizing your bone health. When you eat whole, organically-grown food, there is nothing that doesn’t need to be there. Only real food will revitalize and re-build our bones and our body.
To give you an example of a whole food, bone building diet, let’s take a look at what one of my clients packs for her daily diet.
Ginger and turmeric infused water: Not only a delicious alternative to drinking pure water, ginger and turmeric have anti-inflammatory properties, aid in digestion, and may help brain function along with preventing Alzheimer’s Disease, as well as some cancers.
Orange: High in vitamin C which is a powerful anti-oxidant as well as being important in collagen formation.
Red pepper, celery, carrots and snow peas: All provide a variety of vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin A, C and K, along with fiber make it perfect for snacking.
Sardines in olive oil with skin and bones: High quality protein with the additional benefits of omega-3- fats, vitamin D, calcium, vitamin B12 and phosphorus. The olive oil also provides key polyphenols that have strong anti-inflammatory effects.
Home made turkey bone broth: Bone broths provide numerous minerals that aid in strengthening the bones.
Kale Caesar salad: Kale is one of the healthiest vegetables you can eat to keep your bones strong because in contains 14 of the 21 essential nutrients necessary for bone health.
Sautéed baby bok choy: Cruciferous vegetable that provides important bone building vitamins like K and C, and minerals like potassium and calcium.
Your bones, along with every organ in your body, are in a constant “recycle mode.” Your body is constantly breaking down old worn out tissues and rebuilding with fresh new cells. The quality of food you provide your body is vitally important to rebuilding. It only make sense that if you give your body processed, poor quality food, you will lack the crucial nutrients needed to build strong bones and a healthy body. On the other hand, a diet full of nutrient rich foods will provide your body with all the materials needed to build and fortify your frame.
Contact me to learn more about how you can rebuild your bones, increase muscle strength and improve your overall health and well-being!
