There are 206 of them in the adult body and if we could actually see our bones, we’d probably take better care of them.
I hear a lot of women I train talking about daily skin care routines, using moisturisers, face masks and make up.
Yet weak bones can have much more impact on your health than being worried about one or two wrinkles!
All women should take heed.
Half of women over 50 will break a bone because of poor bone strength, according to the National Osteoporosis Society.
They say that it’s very common to get a fracture in later life.
Worryingly, a fifth of hip fracture victims (from osteoporosis) die within one year while another 30% are forced into a nursing home.
Sorry to be the bringer of bad news!!
So what can you do to stop this happening?
It’s a complete myth that as you get older, it’s inevitable that your bones will weaken. You can actually strengthen your bones with positive dietary and lifestyle changes.
You just need to think of your bones as living entities not just there to support your body.
Here are some top tips that you can follow to look after your bones and be stronger as you get older.
- Drink water – pour yourself a cool, clear glass of water with a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of cayenne pepper. This will aid your digestion, helping you to absorb more nutrients to build bone strength.
- Keep active – brisk walking will help you to up your activity levels. Aim for 10,000 steps every day – the equivalent of around 5 miles. Yoga, Pilates and stretching are also good choices to improve your posture, balance and co-ordination to prevent falls.
- Eat your greens – include foods that include calcium for rebuilding bones. Look at increasing your intake of celery, cucumber, wheatgrass and spinach. Buy a juicer or blender and add those ingredients to water and a banana (for sweetness).
- Snack on nuts – rather than heading to the vending machine for your mid-morning sugary snack, choose high-protein, unsalted, unroasted nuts and seeds instead. Soaked almonds have alkaline properties, which will neutralise an acidic system.
- Get moving and lifting – exercise causes muscles and tendons to pull on your bones, which will stimulate the production of new bone. The type of exercise is important here. You need to be aiming for muscle strengthening, weight-bearing exercises and intensive cardio workouts.
Talking of exercise, one of the reasons I run my 8-Week Strength and Tone Programmes for women, is to help them now so that, later in life, they can stay healthy and avoid fracturing any bones.
I’ve trained hundreds of women in the last few years to lift weights.
Every single woman who has used weights, has achieved positive results and they will go on to live a healthy, fracture-free life as they get older. In fact, I train a few women over 60 and they love using weights!
I’ve just started my current 8-Week Strength and Tone Programme.
If you’re interested, there’s still time to take a look –> 8-WEEK STRENGTH AND TONE PROGRAMME
Thanks
Paul