Keep your bones healthy with bone health supplements. Here’s helpful information you should consider.
Osteoporosis is a progressive disease that affects nearly half of people aged 50 or above. It poses a serious threat to bone health and leads to bone fractures and negatively impacts the quality of life. In your body, your bones constantly break down and reform. It is termed bone remodeling and requires a constant supply of certain nutrients. Without proper nutrition, your bones tend to become weaker and can cause a variety of health-related problems.
Symptoms of Osteoporosis
Let’s look at some of the identifying symptoms of osteoporosis:
- Back pain that is caused by fractured or collapsed vertebra
- Loss of height over time (it can be from half an inch to five inches)
- Bone breakage (easily than expected)
- Stooped posture
- Shortness of breath and weakness
- Persistent pain in joints and bones
Supplements/Vitamins that Help with Osteoporosis
Apart from consuming a healthy diet, taking certain dietary supplements help prevent and manage the disease. Let’s look at the top bone health supplements that can help:
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is essential for the health of your bones and plays a very important role in the absorption of calcium. If you are low on vitamin D, your bones can never be healthy despite taking adequate supplements.
Fatty fish, fortified dairy products, and cereals are great sources of vitamin D. You can also get it through sunlight. Furthermore, you can always consume vitamin D supplements after consulting with your doctor. The current Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for vitamin D is 600 IU for children and adults ages 1–70 and 800 IU for pregnant or breastfeeding adults and those 71 years or older.
Calcium
If you don’t consume enough calcium, your bones are at risk of osteoporosis. Milk, yogurt, bananas are all great resources of calcium. You can also consume additional supplements to strengthen up your bones and make up for the lack of calcium in your diet.
The recommended amount for most adults is 1,000 mg per day and increases to 1,200 mg per day for women over 50 and men over 70.
Magnesium
Magnesium is an essential mineral that is involved in over 300 reactions in your body. Moreover, nearly 60% of the mineral is found in the bone tissue. The RDI for magnesium is 310–320 mg per day for people ages 19–30 years and 400–420 mg per day for people aged 31 and older.
Sometimes, the quantity of magnesium needs to be slightly elevated such as during pregnancy and if you are struggling with certain medical conditions. Research shows that people who consume higher doses of magnesium have better bone mass density.
Boron
Boron plays a critical role in the maintenance and growth of bones. 1–3 mg of boron per day is beneficial for bone health. Dried plums are great resources of boron. Consuming 50–100 grams of dried plums per day for at least six months. Boron is not commonly found in supplements. Hence, it is best to consume it through natural resources.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is crucial to maintaining the strength of your bones and prevents the breakdown of bones. Low levels of Vitamin K are linked with an increased risk of bone fractures. The recommended intake of Vitamin K for adults over 18 is set at 90 mcg per day for women and 120 mcg per day for men.
You can find the vitamins in leafy greens, brussel sprouts, and broccoli. It is important to take it with caution as it can interfere with blood thinners. You can also get additional supplements after getting a recommendation from your doctor.
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 has a significant impact on bone-building cells. Research shows that low levels of vitamin B12 are linked with a higher risk of osteoporosis found in both men and women. If you are someone who is struggling with gastrointestinal disorders, you might be dealing with poor absorption of vitamin B12. If that’s the case, conventional vitamins won’t work and doctors will give you injections of vitamin B12 that directly absorb into your bloodstream without surpassing the digestive tract.
Vitamin C
We rarely see vitamin C as a bone beneficial supplement but you will be surprised to know that studies have shown a relationship between Vitamin C and bone density. Vitamin C is water-soluble and is one of the prime reasons for low absorption. You can easily purchase Vitamin C supplements from the counter. Discuss this aspect with your healthcare provider for a more guided approach.
Importance of Compounding Medication for Bone Health
While some people can see great results with conventional vitamins you can easily find over the counter, they won’t work for every single person. Sometimes, people need to customize dosages that are not available otherwise. That’s is where compounding medication comes to the rescue.
The best way is to get help from a doctor as well as a compounding pharmacist. Following are some of the top benefits of compounding pharmacy:
- Customized Ingredients – A compounding pharmacist will alter the ingredients of the supplements. For instance, if you are allergic to lactose or glucose or a particular dye, you can get these eliminated.
- Customized Strength/Dosage – The pharmacist will increase or decrease the dosage of the vitamins as per your unique requirements.
- Change of Flavor – You can alter the flavor of your medications especially you are dealing with young children and older adults who are short on certain minerals and vitamins.
- Altered Form of Medication – A Compounding pharmacist can turn a pill into a liquid and vice versa.
Final Takeaway
Maintaining bone health is critical for your overall well-being. Healthy bones are a combination of a good diet, a healthy lifestyle, and bone health supplements. You cannot achieve healthy bones by only sticking to one of these changes.
The best way to get started with your bone health is by visiting a health care professional, getting the required test, and incorporating the necessary changes into your day-to-day routine. We hope you found this article helpful, if you have any other questions, feel free to get in touch with us.