Most of us don’t tend to think about our bone density and health until we reach our later years. But here’s the thing about bones: they’re growing, living tissue that is constantly changing. While it’s true that most people reach their peak bone mass around their thirties, there’s plenty you can do to protect your bone health during your adulthood, and this includes your thirties, forties, and beyond.

This is where your lifestyle choices can, quite literally, make or break your bones. What you eat, how you exercise, what supplements you take, and how you generally treat your body affects your entire skeletal system and can either help prevent osteoporosis or accelerate it.

Why Is Bone Health So Important?

We’ll cut straight to the chase: bone health is absolutely crucial for your overall health and well-being as it can greatly affect the quality of your life. This is due to the fact that your bones play multiple important roles:

  • They provide structural support so they are important for balance and movement,
  • They support your internal organs, such as the heart, lungs, and brain,
  • They serve as a storage site for minerals, including calcium.

As we age, maintaining strong and healthy bones helps prevent osteoporosis, a condition that makes bones weak and more likely to break. As you can imagine, fractures from weakened bones can lead not only to significant pain but also to loss of mobility and independence, which become increasingly important during our later years.

And then, there’s the fact that poor bone health can lead to posture issues and back pain, which, if you’re anything like any other modern human, you’ve already experienced regardless of your age.

Lifestyle Choices Affecting Bone Health

So, what can you do to maintain healthy bones as you age? The first thing you should know is that the sooner you start caring for your bones, the better off you’ll be in your fifties and beyond. Ideally, you’ll do your best to build strong bones during your adolescence and twenties.

Does this mean it’s too late to start in your thirties and forties? Absolutely not! Here’s how you can both develop strong bones and slow bone loss as you age.

Nutrition

Your bones need a variety of nutrients to stay strong and healthy. Calcium and vitamin D are particularly important here. The former provides structural strength to bones, while the latter helps your body absorb calcium effectively.

But that’s not all: other nutrients like magnesium, vitamin K, and phosphorus are also very important.

So, a healthy diet rich in leafy greens, dairy products, nuts, seeds, and fish is recommended as it contains these and more essential nutrients. For those who struggle to meet their nutrient needs through food alone, it’s beneficial to take joint health supplements to ensure your bones and joints receive the comprehensive support they require.

Exercise

Regular exercise, particularly weight-bearing and resistance exercises, is essential for maintaining bone density and joint function while preventing osteoporosis. So, if you’re not already doing weight-bearing exercises, now is the time to start: they not only help slow bone loss but also build strong bones.

If you cannot perform high-impact activities, don’t worry; low-impact exercises like swimming, cycling, and even walking offer significant benefits for joint health and overall physical fitness.

Harmful Habits

Okay, so those were some of the most important things you can do to protect your skeletal system; what about the things you should avoid?

It should come as no surprise to anyone that smoking is harmful. In this case, it decreases blood flow to bones and lowers the body’s ability to absorb calcium, which leads to weaker bones.

Excessive alcohol consumption can also interfere with the balance of calcium and vitamin D in your body. Likewise, a sedentary lifestyle (in other words, not being active enough) can also contribute to poor bone health.

Conclusion

As we age, maintaining bone health becomes increasingly important. While there’s no short and sweet solution or a magic pill that can help with this task, a combination of good nutrition, supplements, regular physical activity, and avoiding harmful habits can help your bones remain strong and healthy well into the future.

Taking steps now to support bone health can prevent serious complications later, allowing you to live a fuller, more active life.