“Youth is wasted on the young.” Have you heard that
saying? Back And Neck Care Center supposes that there’s
a little truth in that for all of us - and especially
our Severna Park spines - as we age. When we’re young, our
bodies need8 our attention more than we realize. Our youthful
bones and spines and bodies need proper nutrition so
that our older bones and spine and bodies are in good shape
when we desire living our lives less painfully and more
fully. Back And Neck Care Center shares what Severna Park
chiropractic patients can do now to tackle bone mineral
density (BMD) issues, no matter their current age.
BMD AND OSTEOPOROSIS: BUILD BMD WHILE YOUNG
Optimizing peak bone mass early in life may drop
osteoporosis risk later in life. A recent study stated
that Vitamin D and calcium in females positively affected bone mineral density
into young adulthood. Intakes of phosphorous and the calcium:phosphorous ratio
at adolescence for females negatively affected BMD in young
adulthood. Calcium intake in adolescent males strongly negatively affected
BMD in the lumbar spine at young adulthood. Other influential
factors were body weight at adolescence and young adulthood which positively influenced
BMD. (1) Back And Neck Care Center can’t stress enough just
how vital nutrition is for their future well-being.
BENEFITS OF IMPROVED NUTRITION BEYOND BETTER BONE MINERAL
DENSITY
Osteoporosis is a disease of older people that stems
from youthful (in)attention. Low serum levels of vitamin D in osteoporotic
women tend to have an increased chance
of having any type of cancer and breast cancer. (2) Calcium intake during
the teen years of life is vital to decrease the
risk of osteoporosis later in life. Teen girls absorb calcium more
effectively: 326mg in teenage girls versus just 73mg in older women of 1332 mg taken a day.
Even more concerning is that teen girls’ daily intake
of calcium is far below what it should be. Enhancing
bone mass by only 5% drops the risk of fracture
by 40%. (3) Getting healthy bones depends on more than just calcium and vitamin D however.
Deficiencies of vitamins B, C, E, and K as well as retinol compromise
the health of bone. (4) Back And Neck Care Center presents
these statistics to inspire us all to boost
intake of nutrients to build bone mass early and support it
later to keep it healthy.
IMPROVE ABSORPTION OF NUTRIENTS
Back And Neck Care Center knows that kids and their
families want to be sure that their nutritional efforts will be of value. TIP: Dietary fiber may raise the body’s
absorption of calcium but does it differently for older
men and women. Greater intake of dietary fiber and fruit fiber was
protective against bone loss in men but not women. Fiber from vegetables was
protective against spine bone loss in women but not men. Cereal fiber or nut
and legume fiber increases didn’t relate to bone loss in either men or women. Higher dietary fiber may reduce
bone loss in men. (5) Who would have thought that fiber would
have anything to do with bone mineral density? Back And Neck Care Center bets
that many of our Severna Park chiropractic patients wouldn’t
have!
FIBER’S DEFENSE OF MEN’S BMD
Luckily, some most observant doctors and
researchers did notice that fiber intake was a protective factor of
lumbar spine BMD in men 18-45 years of age but not in women. In men over 65 years, nutrient
intake indicated no effect on BMD. In women between 18 and 45,
fiber did not show a significant change to BMD, but daily fat intake did significantly. (6) A curious side note: It had been thought that bone
mineral density may be a risk factor for lumbar disc herniation in
young persons, but a new study debunked that
thought. (7) However, medical literature points out that the general
value of nutrition - and now fiber intake in men - on the health
of the body, its bones and its spine.
CONTACT Back And Neck Care Center
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Nike Taylor on The Back
Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as she helps a patients with
chronic low back pain with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
Schedule your next Severna Park chiropractic
appointment with Back And Neck Care Center where your spine, body and its bones are well understood
in their current age whether they were treated well in their youth or not!