5 Tips for Healthy Bones

One of the authors of "The Gene Makeover: The 21st Century Anti-Aging Breakthrough," renowned orthopedic surgeon and inventor of a form of artificial knee, Fred Buechel Sr. MD, gives the following tips for heathy bones:

Feed your Bones by Making Wise Food Choices
Load your Bones by Exercising 2-3 times per Week
Nourish your Bones by Keeping Blood Vessels Healthy
Assist your Bones by Maintaining a Balanced pH Level
Supplement Your Bones Twice a Day

Nutrition:
Healthy bones require proper amounts of protein, calcium, magnesium and organic phosphates to mature, and remain strong. Consider eating foods that are rich in these nutrients such as spinach, sardines (with bones), lean meats and poultry, as well as, small amounts of low-fat dairy products. Organic products are preferred.

Exercise:
Load bearing exercises, such as push-ups for upper extremities and leg-presses for lower extremities, combined with abdominal crunches and back extensions stimulate our body’s long bones and spine to absorb the nutrients necessary to create increased bone density. Without 2 to 3 times weekly loading exercise (walking for 30 minutes is also great), our bone density becomes less and our bones are weakened. A severe state of this weakness is called, ‘Osteoporosis”. Routine exercise helps prevent osteoporosis by stimulating our bones to absorb calcium and magnesium.

Healthy Blood Vessels:
Bones are living hard tissues that require nourishment through tiny blood vessels in their Haversian Canals. Bone cells are constantly being generated by osteoblasts and are being resorbed by osteoclasts. Without healthy (non-clogged) blood vessels, this bone turnover process can be upset in favor of resportion, which can lead to ‘brittle bones’ or osteoporosis. Foods that are rich in essential fatty acids and Vitamin K2, such as salmon, sardines and green leafy vegetables, help to promote healthy endothelial linings of our blood vessels, which are essential in providing nutrition to our bones, not to mention helping to prevent heart attacks and strokes.

Alkaline Body Balance:
Neutral to alkaline body pH allows bone forming, while acid pH tends to promote bone resorption. Consider testing urine pH with test strips in the morning to evaluate your level of acidity (pH). If too acid (pH less that 5.5), consider taking ½ to 1.5 tsp. of Baking Soda mixed in 8 oz. water at bedtime, until your morning pH is neutral (pH = 7) or slightly alkaline (pH = 7.2 – 7.5) Consider reducing your intake of acid forming foods and liquids, such as red meat, coffee, soda and alcohol, while trying to eat more salads and alkaline forming vegetables, like broccoli, spinach and cucumber.


Supplements:
Just like all other living tissues in our bodies, bones require basic levels of hormones, vitamins, minerals and amino acids to remain health and strong. Unfortunately, our modern diets, lifestyle and exposure to environmental toxins, creates multiple nutritional deficiencies and promotes oxidative stress at a cellular level, including our bones. Modern food processing depletes many of the essential nutrients that we need which compounds our deficiency problems. Therefore, it is essential to consider supplementing our inadequate diets with nutritional support. As we age, we develop hormonal decline as well as a decline in absorption from our gastro-intestinal tract. For these reasons, consider supplementing deficient hormones (bioidentical only) and vital nutrients to optimize bone cell function. Aside from a nutrient dense morning (AM) and evening (PM) formulation, consider cellular repair products (nutrients) that control Methylation, inflammation, Glycation, oxidation and DNA damage; the 5 basic metabolic processes that are involved in bone cell function. Specific nutrient supplementation should include scientifically proven amounts of water soluble and fat soluble vitamins, sufficient calcium (1200/day for women), magnesium 500-1000mg/day, Vitamin D3 (1000-2000 IU/day), Vitamin K2 (1 mg/day), and other botanicals and minerals found to stimulate optimal health.

To learn more about nutritional support visit http://www.agebetternow.com/.

Frederick F. Buechel, Sr., M.D., is an internationally renowned orthopedic surgeon, anti-aging physician, researcher and developer in the field of artificial joints. In addition to being clinical professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, he has been chief of total joint reconstructive and arthritis surgery services for the past twenty-five years. Dr. Buechel has written and lectured internationally and received more than 100 U.S. and international patents based on his collaborative work in the field of implant design and development. He has been widely featured in medical journals and interviewed by NPR and various TV news stations, including WINK TV. Dr Buechel is the co-author of the bestselling book: The Gene Makeover: The 21st Century Anti-Aging Breakthrough.