3 Ways to Maintain Good Bone Health

If you are a regular reader of GoodyFoodies, you will be familiar with my eating habits and lifestyle choices, as it is all well-documented here :-) Health and well-being of my family are important to me, and are what I hope to achieve as a parent, whilst also trying to live life to the fullest. I certainly do not take my health for granted; in fact the lifestyle and the choices I make are carefully selected for overall good health and maintaining healthy bodies for my family.

However despite my relatively healthy lifestyle and diet in terms of food intake and exercise, I would like to share my personal experience regarding height loss post-pregnancy.

In order to grow strong bones, an unborn baby needs a lot of calcium. The fetus gets his or her calcium from what the mother is eating. If insufficient calcium is present for the unborn child to develop, the mother may lose the balance from her own bones in order to provide for the child. Maybe if I had been alerted to this phenomenon during pregnancy, I could have supplemented my diet with sufficient calcium in my daily diet. After the birth of my two beautiful children, I now stand 2cm shorter in height.

It is not only mothers that should be aware of calcium requirements. As we grow older, both genders are susceptible to osteoporosis, a low bone density condition which can result in broken bones. A broken bone can really affect your quality of life and can impair daily tasks such as walking, bathing or cooking, leaving the individual with great disability during the healing process.

The best way to prevent weak bones is to work on building strong ones. Regardless of your age, the best way to achieve/maintain strong bones is to eat a calcium-rich diet every day. Some foods which are calcium rich include sardines, salmon, broccoli, spinach, milk, cheese, tofu and yoghurt. The daily recommended calcium intake for adults between ages 19 to 50 is 1000mg per day.

Some of the calcium-rich food we would eat - cheese and dried figs are two of my favorites,though this is a once-in-a-while indulgence

Spinach is good for you too

Firm tofu is one of the best calcium-rich foods

When considering calcium intake, it is also important to consider Vitamin D, which helps your body absorb calcium. Vitamin D is produced in your skin when it is exposed to sunlight. You can also get Vitamin D via foods such as milk, salmon and egg yolk, however a normal diet is unlikely to provide sufficient Vitamin D.

Egg yolk is a source of vitamin D

Although I cook and do meal planning regularly, it is still difficult to know for sure if we meet the recommended daily calcium intake through food. That is where health supplements can play an important role in achieving and maintaining a healthy body.

Blackmores Calcium + D3 "one-a-day" tablet is one such supplement aimed at meeting your Calcium and Vitamin D3 requirements. It is an improved formulation containing 600mg of Calcium and 500IU of Vitamin D3 to help absorption of calcium in an easy-to-swallow tablet. This way, I can rest assure knowing that I have given my body a great start to the day and henceforth supplement my body with calcium-rich food throughout the day.

Being active also helps to slow bone loss, improve muscle strength and in the long run, keeps your bones strong. An example is yoga - which I picked up about two years ago. This is my favorite Tree pose which stresses and stimulates the bones of the hip, pelvis, spine and shoulders. It also improves balance and hence reduces the likelihood of falls.

For more information on the Blackmores Calcium + D3 product, click this link.

*This is a sponsored post.