How important is Calcium and strong bones and what is the missing link?
Are you worried that your bones aren’t as strong as they can be?
Are you concerned about getting Osteoporosis or Osteoarthritis?
Let’s start with the basics here, what is Osteoporosis?
In simple terms, Osteoporosis is a disease that causes bones to weaken
to the point where they can break easily. This one is a sneaky disease
because it can sneak up on you and you may not notice until you break a
bone. After our mid 30's, this balance is shifted and we begin to gradually
lose more bone than we replace.
What is Osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis is a disease of the joints. Aging typically causes some
damage to the cartilage and I would also argue posture and poor body
mechanics too. As your cartilage gets thinner, the underlying bone gets
injured. This can cause pain, limited movement and stiffness of the
joints, which is the most common.
At least 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men will break a bone due
to osteoporosis in their lifetime (Canadian facts)
Fragility fractures represent 80% of all fractures in menopausal
women over the age of 50
Fractures from osteoporosis are more common than heart attack,
stroke and breast cancer combined
What’s one thing you can do right now to lessen your chances of getting
Osteoarthritis? EXERCISE. C’mon you knew I was going to say that one right?
Working with a trained health professional is key here because just any exercise
isn’t the right exercise and you want to really focus on strengthening the right
areas of your body properly.
Although Exercise is important so is the foundation of the bones themselves.
You may have heard me talk about the importance of Magnesium before but when
it comes to the health of your bones it’s pretty darn important.
Although you can get some magnesium from food, the majority of us do not meet
the basic minimum or recommended daily intake requirements. Magnesium
deficiency can cause a whole gamut of health concerns.
Now when it comes to Calcium we have been told a lot of different things. I want
to provide you with some straight up facts about Calcium and how to keep your
bones good and strong as you get older.
One of the most common marketing techniques to sell your food as healthy is
promoting its calcium content.
Yes, calcium is very important for our health it is the main component of our
bones, but that’s pretty much the only part of the story we’ve been told…
Did you know our body only absorbs about half of the calcium we ingest? That’s
right, only half.
Calcium is the main component of our bones, but it is not the only one. Bones
with just calcium are weak and actually very fragile.
A healthy bone structure and the absorption of calcium depend on an element
that not many people are talking about and that is:
MAGNESIUM
Magnesium is a co-factor for the enzymes that convert the calcium we get
through food into one that our body can assimilate and make it a part of our body
structures.
Without magnesium (as well as vitamin D, which is really important too), all the
calcium we consume will leave our body and not stay and do the work we need it
to do.
A whopping 60% of the magnesium in our body is stored in our bones.
To make a simple reference for you, imagine calcium being the bricks that
construct the bones and magnesium being the cement.
Calcium is the “bulk” that composes most of the bone cells, but magnesium is
what makes them strong and durable.
Hopefully that helps give you a big picture of the importance of calcium and
Magnesium in bone health.
If you don’t have any magnesium or Vitamin D on hand pick some up in our store
today and you’ll have it shipped to you within a few days.
When it comes to Magnesium there are two types you can purchase,
Magnesium Citrate and Magnesium Glycinate.
Knowing the difference is important so you can help manage your Parkinson’s
symptoms that much better.
Magnesium Citrate- is most helpful for constipation
Magnesium Glycinate- most helpful for anxiety, calming effect(helpful for sleep),
chronic stress and inflammatory conditions.
Our bones deserve some love too! Don’t forget to take good care of them.
Cheers,
Christine
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