“Youth is wasted on the young.” Ever heard that? New Hampshire Spine and Sport supposes that there is a little truth in that for all of us - and particularly our Southern New Hampshire spines - as we age. When we’re young, our bodies need8 our attention more than we realize. Our youthful bones and spines and bodies require good nutrition so that our older bones and spine and bodies are fit when we desire living our lives less painfully and more fully. New Hampshire Spine and Sport reveals what Southern New Hampshire chiropractic patients can do now to address bone mineral density (BMD) issues, regardless of their current age.
BMD AND OSTEOPOROSIS: BUILD BMD WHILE YOUNG
Optimizing peak bone mass early in life may decrease osteoporosis risk later in life. A new study wrote that Vitamin D and calcium in females positively affected bone mineral density into young adulthood. Intakes of phosphorous and the calcium:phosphorous ratio at adolescence for females negatively affected BMD in young adulthood. Calcium intake in adolescent males strongly negatively influenced BMD in the lumbar spine at young adulthood. Other influential factors were body weight at adolescence and young adulthood which positively influenced BMD. (1) New Hampshire Spine and Sport cannot stress enough just how important nutrition is for their future health.
BENEFITS OF IMPROVED NUTRITION BEYOND BETTER BONE MINERAL DENSITY
Osteoporosis is a disease of older folks that results from youthful (in)attention. Low serum levels of vitamin D in osteoporotic women have a tendency to have an increased chance of having any type of cancer and breast cancer. (2) Calcium intake during the teen years of life is important to decrease the risk of osteoporosis later in life. Teen girls absorb calcium better: 326mg in teenage girls versus just 73mg in older women of 1332 mg taken a day. Even more problematic is that teen girls’ daily consumption of calcium is way below what it should be. Enhancing bone mass by only 5% reduces the risk of fracture by 40%. (3) Getting healthy bones hinges on more than just calcium and vitamin D however. Deficiencies of vitamins B, C, E, and K as well as retinol disrupt the health of bone. (4) New Hampshire Spine and Sport shares these statistics to inspire us all to increase intake of nutrients to build bone mass initially and support it later to keep it healthy.
IMPROVE ABSORPTION OF NUTRIENTS
New Hampshire Spine and Sport knows that kids and their families want to be sure that their nutritional efforts will be of value. TIP: Dietary fiber may increase the body’s absorption of calcium but does it differently for older men and women. Higher intake of dietary fiber and fruit fiber was protective against bone loss in men but not women. Fiber from vegetables was protective against spine bone loss in women but not men. Cereal fiber or nut and legume fiber improvements didn’t relate to bone loss in either men or women. Higher dietary fiber may reduce bone loss in men. (5) Who would have thought that fiber would have anything to do with bone mineral density? New Hampshire Spine and Sport bets that many of our Southern New Hampshire chiropractic patients would not have!
FIBER’S DEFENSE OF MEN’S BMD
Luckily, there are some very observant researchers and doctors out there! They discovered that fiber intake was a protective factor of lumbar spine BMD in men 18-45 years of old but not in females. In men over 65 years, nutrient intake showed no effect on BMD. In women between 18 and 45, fiber did not show a significant effect on BMDs, but daily fat intake significantly enhanced BMD. (6) An interesting side note: Some thought that bone mineral density may be a risk factor for lumbar disc herniation in young persons, but a recent study discredited that thought. (7) However, medical literature points out that the overall value of nutrition - and now fiber intake in men - on the well-being of the body, its bones and its spine.
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Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Nike Taylor on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as she helps a patients with chronic low back pain with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
Schedule your next Southern New Hampshire chiropractic appointment with New Hampshire Spine and Sport where your spine, body and its bones are well known in their current age whether they were treated well in their youth or not!