Tag Archives: vitamin d bones

How Vitamin D Rich Foods May Help Remedy Insomnia

Posted on by

vitamin d foods for sleepHere’s a short vitamin D primer that also includes how it can affect insomnia.  Shared by Nutrition Breakthroughs, maker of Sleep Minerals II
***********************
Do you struggle with falling asleep or staying asleep at night? If so, you are not alone. Every night, millions of people lie in bed hoping for a restful night’s sleep that does not come.

It is estimated that one in three people will develop acute insomnia every year, and about 10% of these individuals will struggle with insomnia for several months at a time.

Insomnia can wreak havoc on one’s ability to live a normal, productive life. In fact, lack of sleep can lead to mood changes, memory loss, and impaired judgement. In addition, unresolved or unmanaged sleep disorders can increase the risk of chronic pain, depression, and a compromised immune system.

There are a variety of sleep medications on the market to help manage insomnia. However, the side effects often lead to a new set of health complications. As a result, many people have begun searching for a safer, natural alternative to promote a healthier sleep cycle. Of the options on the market, vitamin D is proving to be a serious contender.

Vitamin D at a glance

Vitamin D has been making media headlines for over two decades. Originally believed to be important solely for bone health, research continues to uncover a wide range of additional health benefits of maintaining optimal levels.

Unfortunately, despite the thousands of studies that have showcased the body’s need for vitamin D, deficiency remains highly prevalent. This is due to a variety of factors, including but not limited to:

  • Indoor lifestyle
  • Sunblock use
  • Avoidance of mid-day sun exposure
  • Lack of supplement use
  • Imbalanced diet
  • Obesity

Often, people who are vitamin D deficient experience symptoms like fatigue, joint and muscle pain, frequent infections and insomnia.

How vitamin D status may impact sleep quality

Vitamin D is not just a vitamin, it’s a hormone. That means, after undergoing a couple of activation processes in the body, it binds to cells throughout the body to regulate a wide range of bodily functions.

Hormones are fat-soluble substances derived from cholesterol. They are produced by glands such as the thyroid, adrenals and pancreas, and then released into the bloodstream to reach target cells. These include cortisol made by the adrenals, testosterone, estrogen and yes, vitamin D.

So, how may vitamin D impact sleep? Vitamin D receiving points are located throughout regions of the brain that regulate our mood and sleep patterns. This has led researchers to theorize that vitamin D helps regulate the circadian rhythm, which is our body’s internal clock that instructs us when to sleep, eat, and rest.

  • Several studies have supported this theory by reporting a relationship between healthy vitamin D levels and improved sleep quality. In addition, a recent study found that vitamin D deficiency is associated with an 11-fold increased odds of resistance to sleep medication. This means that the people who didn’t respond to sleeping drugs had a lower level of vitamin D in their body.

Best sources of vitamin D

Thankfully, there are a variety of ways one can ensure they are receiving enough vitamin D to promote healthy sleep cycles.  This includes safe sun exposure (avoiding getting burned), supplementation, and eating a balanced diet.

Now more than ever, foods are being fortified with vitamin D in an effort to better support the body’s needs. However, people frequently ask, which form is better, vitamin D2 or D3?

Vitamin D2 is obtained through the diet and is produced by plants; whereas D3 is naturally produced when the skin is exposed to the sun and it can be consumed via animal sources in the diet.

Vitamin D3 is more bioavailable than D2, meaning this form is more efficiently utilized by our bodies. For this reason, experts recommend people ensure they are receiving ample amounts of vitamin D3 per day.

Top dietary sources of vitamin D

  1. Cod liver Oil is the most potent dietary source for vitamin D3. In just one tablespoon, you can receive 1,360 international units (IU) vitamin D3. In addition to vitamin D, cod liver oil is rich in vitamin A and omega-3 fatty acids.
  2. Fatty fish, such as salmon, sardines and mackerel are the best dietary sources of vitamin D, with about 500 IU vitamin D3 content in just three ounces of cooked fish. Also rich in omega-3 fatty acids, these sources offer a heart-healthy option for those looking for a balanced dietary approach to maintaining healthy vitamin D levels.
  3. Plain greek yogurt is another healthy option to provide some of your daily vitamin D needs. Known for its probiotics, greek yogurt helps support a healthy intestinal tract. In addition, it is a great snack for people who struggle with hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) due to its high protein, low carbohydrate ratio. It also contains calcium, magnesium and about 80 IU vitamin D per 6 oz serving.
  4. Eggs offer another beneficial source of vitamin D3. They generally contain about 40 IU per yoke.
  5. Perhaps one of the most popular dietary sources of vitamin D is milk. It offers about 120 IU vitamin D3 per serving. Milk also provides a great source of calcium. For this reason, milk is an important dietary component to protecting bone health.

Final thoughts

If you struggle with insomnia and hope vitamin D may help improve your sleep quality, there are a couple important factors to keep in mind. First, consistency is key. Although time of day isn’t important when eating foods rich in vitamin D or taking an oral supplement, it is important that this is done on a regular basis.

Research suggests that taking a couple thousand international units (IU’s) of vitamin D per day between foods and supplements is ideal when addressing sleeplessness and insomnia.

One supplement that contains a good amount of vitamin D is Sleep Minerals II from Nutrition Breakthroughs. It also contains highly absorbable forms of calcium, magnesium, and zinc, which are all blended together with healthy oils to form an absorbable soft gel. Together, these vitamins and minerals work to help facilitate quality sleep.  Vitamin and mineral deficiencies can cause one to wake up in the middle of the night and be unable to fall back asleep.

One Sleep Minerals II user in Massachusetts says: “I had become dependent on sleeping drugs and couldn’t sleep without them. Now I take the Sleep Minerals before bed and can sleep through the whole night without drugs. I’m also able to easily fall back to sleep if I do have to get up.  Another benefit is this helps alleviate my chronic fatigue and aches and pains.”

Vitamin D is one of the master players in the game we all hope to win: Vibrant health, well-being and good sleep. Use it well in foods and supplements, as well as together with those minerals that are best-known for being relaxing insomnia remedies.

For more information, visit the Sleep Minerals II page.

Study Reveals Better Bone Health from 1 Minute of Exercise

Posted on by

exercise for bone healthWhat if a research study was conducted with actual real human beings (not animals) that demonstrated a mere one to two minutes a day of exercise could result in better, stronger bones?  Well, there  is one.

With increasing age, our bones become weaker and less dense, particularly in women after menopause due to the decline in estrogen and calcium in the body.  More and more studies are finding that physical movement and activity can counteract the effects of weaker bones and any tendency toward bone fractures.

Epidemiology is the study of how often various diseases occur and also what possible ways or methods might exist to control or eradicate them.  The most recent study on the topic of bone health was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.  The burning question in the researcher’s minds was this: How do we discover what type of exercise, what quantity of exercise, and what intensity, would provide the most positive, beneficial impact on bone strength.

For the study, both pre and post-menopausal women wore small wrist monitors for a week that measured and recorded the intensity of their physical movements.  It was particularly important to the researchers to be able to record very short amounts of activity.  They looked at data for more than 2,500 women, and compared their activity levels with bone health, which was measured by an ultrasound scan of heel bone.

The outcome?  A mere one to two minutes of flat-out, intense exercise resulted in an increase in bone strength.  This translates to a minute or two of slow jogging for a post-menopausal woman or a minute or two of running for a pre-menopausal woman in order to achieve a 4% increase in bone health.  Women who did more than two minutes had a 6% increase.  (Please see further recommendations below on how to safely transition into more intense exercise).

The lead author of the study, Dr Victoria Stiles of the University of Exeter in the UK, said: “We wanted to make every second count in our analysis, because short snippets of high-intensity activity are more beneficial to bone health than longer, continuous periods. We were careful not to ignore short bursts of activity throughout the day.”

Dr. Stiles makes a suggestion for people who are interested in upping their levels of daily exercise.  She said: “The UK’s National Osteoporosis Society recommends increasing your walking activity first.  Further on, we would suggest adding a few running steps to the walk, a bit like you might do if you were running to catch a bus.”

Another proven way to increase bone health is to include more calcium-rich foods in the diet.  Olive oil, leafy greens, almonds, raw cheeses, yogurt, broccoli and carrots are good choices.  Calcium, magnesium and vitamin D supplements are also beneficial.  Not only do these minerals strengthen bone and muscle health, but they are proven to calm sleeplessness and insomnia as well.

One study published in the European Neurology Journal found that calcium levels in the body are higher during some of the deepest levels of sleep, such as the rapid eye movement (REM) phase. The study concluded that disturbances in sleep, especially the absence of REM deep sleep or disturbed REM sleep, are related to a calcium deficiency.

William Sears, M.D. writes: “Calcium helps the brain use the amino acid tryptophan to manufacture the sleep-inducing substance melatonin. This explains why dairy products, which contain both tryptophan and calcium, are one of the top sleep-inducing foods.”

One calcium-based supplement shown to be effective for insomnia is Sleep Minerals II from Nutrition Breakthroughs.  This formula contains highly absorbable forms of calcium and magnesium, the best minerals for sleeplessness and insomnia, as well as for menopause insomnia, heart health, restless leg syndrome and bone strength.  It also includes vitamin D and zinc and is delivered in a softgel form with healthy carrier oils, making it more quickly absorbable than tablets or capsules and providing a deeper, longer-lasting sleep.

Sadie D. from the Netherlands says: “I am ever so grateful that I discovered Sleep Minerals II after suffering with premenopause and now the real menopause insomnia.  I felt like I was slowly losing my mind due to the continual lack of sleep.  I can’t express the relief of getting a good night’s sleep and being able to function properly.”

Richard P. of Parkville, Maryland says: “The Sleep Minerals are making quite a difference.  I was regularly waking up at around 3:00 a.m. and couldn‘t go back to sleep. Now I wake up once to go to the bathroom, but the great thing is, I then fall back asleep and sleep several more hours.”

The main message is that a combination of exercise and calcium tend to ignite into a dynamic duo that can bring great boosts to bone health, healthy sleep and good overall health.

This health news is provided by Nutrition Breakthroughs, a publisher of nutrition articles and supplier of effective natural remedies since 2002. Nutrition Breakthroughs makes the original calcium and magnesium based natural sleep aid Sleep Minerals II, as well as Joints and More, the natural solution for joint relief, aches and pains, stronger hair and nails and more energy.

Vitamin D 101 for Beginners: A Guide to Benefits and Sources

Posted on by

By Kris Gunnars, CEO and Founder of Authority Nutrition, BSc (Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine)

**************************************
Shared by Nutrition Breakthroughs,
maker of Sleep Minerals II and Joints and More
**************************************

You may be surprised to learn that vitamin D is completely different from most other vitamins.

It is actually a hormone, a steroid hormone that is produced out of cholesterol when your skin is exposed to the sun. (Steroid hormones include estrogen, testosterone and the adrenal gland hormones).

For this reason, vitamin D is often referred to as the “sunshine” vitamin.

However, sun exposure is often inadequate these days, making it necessary for people to get more of it from the diet (or supplements).

This is important, because vitamin D is absolutely essential for optimal health (1).

Unfortunately, only a handful of foods contain significant amounts of this vitamin, and deficiency is extremely common (2).

In fact, according to data from 2005-2006, a whopping 41.6% of the US population is deficient in this critical vitamin/hormone (4).

This article explains everything you need to know about vitamin D.

What is Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is one of the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K), meaning that it dissolves in fat/oil and can be stored in the body for a long time.

There are actually two main forms found in the diet:

  • Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol): Found in some animal foods, like fatty fish and egg yolks.
  • Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol): Found in some mushrooms.

Of the two, D3 (cholecalciferol) is the one we’re interested in, because it is almost twice as effective at increasing blood levels of vitamin D as the D2 form (6).

Bottom Line: Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that can be stored in the body for long periods of time. There are two main forms, D2 and D3, of which D3 is much more effective.

What Does Vitamin D Do in The Body?

 

Vitamin D is actually pretty useless at first.

It needs to go through two conversion steps to become “active” (8).

First, it is converted to calcidiol, or 25(OH)D, in the liver. This is the storage form of the vitamin in the body.

Second, it is converted to calcitriol, or 1,25(OH)2D, mostly in the kidneys. This is the active, steroid hormone form of vitamin D.

Calcitriol travels around the body, going into the nuclei of cells. There it interacts with a receptor called the vitamin D receptor, which is found in almost every single cell of the body (10).

When the active form of vitamin D binds to this receptor, it turns genes on or off, leading to changes in the cells (12). This is similar to how most other steroid hormones work.

It is well known that vitamin D affects various cells related to bone health, for example telling the cells in the gut to absorb calcium and phosphorus (14).

But scientists have now found it to be involved in all sorts of other processes, including immune function and protection against cancer (15).

So people who are deficient in vitamin D will be deficient in calcitriol (the steroid hormone form), so in effect they are deficient in one of the body’s critical hormones.

Bottom Line: Vitamin D is turned into calcidiol, the storage form of the vitamin, which is then converted into calcitriol, the active steroid form. Calcitriol binds to the vitamin D receptor inside cells, turning genes on or off.

Sunshine is The Best Way to Get Vitamin D

Vitamin D can be produced out of cholesterol in the skin, when it is exposed to the sun. The ultraviolet B (UVB) rays from the sun provide the energy needed for the reaction to occur (16).

If you live where there is abundant sun year round, then you can probably get all the vitamin D you need by just going outside and sunbathing a few times per week.

 

Keep in mind that you need to expose a large part of your body. If you’re only exposing your face and hands then you will produce much less vitamin D.

Also, if you stay behind glass or use sunscreen, then you will produce less vitamin D, or none at all.

This makes the advice to use sunscreen to protect against skin cancer highly questionable. It raises your risk of vitamin D deficiency, which may lead to other diseases instead (17).

If you decide to get your vitamin D from the sun, just make sure to never, ever burn.

Sunshine is healthy, but sunburns can cause premature aging of the skin and raise your risk of skin cancer (18).

If you’re staying in the sun for a long time, consider going without sunscreen for the first 10-30 minutes or so (depending on your sensitivity to sun), then apply it before you start burning.

Vitamin D gets stored in the body for a long time, weeks or months, so you may only need occasional sun to keep your blood levels adequate.

All that being said, not everyone (including myself) lives where there is sun year round. In these cases, getting vitamin D from foods or supplements becomes absolutely essential, especially during the winter months.

Bottom Line: Sunshine is the best way to get vitamin D, but sunscreen blocks its production. Many people don’t have access to sunshine for most of the year.

Very Few Foods Contain This Vitamin in Significant Amounts

Here is the vitamin D3 content of a few select foods:

Although fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, swordfish, trout, tuna and sardines are decent sources, you would have to eat them almost every single day to get enough.

The only really good dietary source of vitamin D is fish liver oils, such as cod fish liver oil, containing up two to times the daily value in a single tablespoon.

Keep in mind that dairy products and cereals are often fortified with vitamin D (21).

Some rare mushrooms also contain vitamin D, and egg yolks contain small amounts.

Bottom Line: Cod fish liver oil is the single best source of vitamin D3. Fatty fish is also a good source, but you have to eat it very often to get enough.

Vitamin D Deficiency is Serious Business

 

Vitamin D deficiency is one of the most common nutrient deficiencies.

Some people are at greater risk than others. Although the average is around 41.6%, this percentage goes up to 82.1% in black people and 69.2% in Hispanics (4).

Elderly people are also at a much greater risk of being deficient (22).

People who have certain diseases are also very likely to be deficient. One study showed that 96% of heart attack patients were low on vitamin D (23)

Unfortunately, vitamin D deficiency is a silent epidemic. The symptoms are usually subtle, and may take years or decades to surface.

The most well known symptom of vitamin D deficiency is a disease of the bones called rickets, which is common in children in developing countries.

However, due to public health measures back in the day, they started fortifying some foods with vitamin D, which mostly eliminated rickets from Western societies (24).

Deficiency has also been linked to osteoporosis, reduced mineral density and increased risk of falls and fractures in the elderly (25).

Studies have also shown that people with low vitamin D levels have a much greater risk of heart disease, diabetes (both type 1 and type 2), cancer, dementia and autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis, to name a few (26).

Vitamin D deficiency has also been linked to a significantly increased risk of death from all causes (27).

Whether being vitamin D deficient actually contributes to these diseases, or whether people who have low vitamin D levels are just more likely to get them, is not as clear.

Bottom Line: Vitamin D deficiency is a well known cause of a bone disease called rickets in children. However, deficiency has also been linked to many other health problems, as well as reduced life expectancy.

Health Benefits of Getting Plenty of Vitamin D

 

Vitamin D has received considerable mainstream attention in recent years and decades.

Research on it has gotten lots of funding, and hundreds of studies have been done.

Here are some potential benefits of getting plenty of vitamin D:

  • Osteoporosis, falls and fractures: Higher doses of vitamin D can help prevent osteoporosis, falls and fractures in the elderly (30).
  • Strength: Vitamin D supplementation can increase physical strength, in both upper and lower limbs (31).
  • Cancer: Vitamin D may help prevent cancer. One study showed that 1100 IU per day, along with calcium, reduced cancer risk by 60% (32).
  • Depression: Studies have shown vitamin D supplementation to cause mild reduction in symptoms in people with clinical depression (34).
  • Type 1 diabetes: One study in infants found that 2000 IU of vitamin D per day reduced the risk of type 1 diabetes by 78% (35).
  • Mortality: Some studies have shown that vitamin D supplementation reduces people’s risk of dying during the study periods, indicating that it may help you live longer (36).
  • Insomnia: (A note from Nutrition Breakthroughs): Vitamin D is a proven insomnia remedy.  The results of a clinical trial of vitamin D supplementation was published in a recent issue of the journal “Medical Hypothesis”.  The researchers followed 1500 patients over a 2 year period and a consistent level of vitamin D3 was maintained in their blood over many months. This produced normal sleep in most of the participants, regardless of the type of sleep disorder they were experiencing. (end of the note from Nutrition Breakthroughs).

This is actually just the tip of the iceberg.

Low vitamin D levels have been linked to all sorts of diseases, and supplementation has been shown to have numerous other benefits.

However, keep in mind that much of this is not definitely proven. According to a recent 2014 review, more evidence is needed to confirm many of these benefits (38).

Bottom Line: Taking vitamin D supplements has been shown to have numerous benefits related to cancer, bone health, mental health and autoimmune diseases, to name a few.

How Much Should You Take?

The only way to know if you are deficient, and whether you need to take a supplement, is by having your blood levels measured.

 

Your doctor will measure the storage form, calcidiol or 25(OH)D. Anything under 12 ng/mL is considered deficient, and anything above 20 ng/mL is considered adequate. (Note: Some medical tests report results in nanograms (ng) per millilitre (mL). A nanogram is one-billionth of a gram. A gram is about 1/30 of an ounce. A millilitre measures fluid volume equal to 1/1000 litre).

The RDA for vitamin D in the US is as follows (39):

  • 400 IU (10 mcg): Infants, 0-12 months.
  • 600 IU (15 mcg): Children and adults, 1-70 years of age.
  • 800 IU (20 mcg): Elderly and pregnant or lactating women.

Although the official cutoff point for vitamin D deficiency is 12 ng/mL, many health experts believe that people should aim for blood levels higher than 30 ng/mL for optimal health and disease prevention (40).

Additionally, many believe that the recommended intake is way too low, and that people need much more to reach optimal blood levels of the vitamin (41).

According to the Institute of Medicine, the safe upper limit is 4.000 IU (42).

For people who are at risk of deficiency, this may be a good amount to aim for. Sometimes doctors recommend taking much more than that.

Just make sure to take vitamin D3, not D2. Vitamin D3 capsules are available in most supermarkets and health food stores.

Vitamins A, K2 and Magnesium Are Important as Well

It’s important to keep in mind that nutrients usually don’t work in isolation.

Many of them depend on one another, and increased intake of one nutrient may increase your need for another.

Some researchers claim that fat-soluble vitamins work together, and that it is crucial to optimize vitamin A and vitamin K2 intake at the same time as supplementing with vitamin D3 (43).

This is especially important for vitamin K2, another fat-soluble vitamin that most people don’t get enough of (45).

Magnesium intake may also be important for the function of vitamin D. Magnesium is an important mineral that is often lacking in the modern diet (46)

What Happens if You Take Too Much?

It is actually a myth that it is easy to overdose on vitamin D.

Vitamin D toxicity is very rare, and only happens if you take insane doses for long periods of time (48).

I (Kris Gunnars) personally live where there is very little sun year-round, so I take 4000-5000 IU per day of a vitamin D3 supplement.

I’ve been doing this for many years now, and consider it to be an essential component of my personal health strategy.

*****************************************************

This health news is shared by Nutrition Breakthroughs, a publisher of nutrition articles and supplier of effective natural remedies since 2002. Nutrition Breakthroughs makes the original mineral-based sleep remedy Sleep Minerals II, containing calcium, magnesium, vitamin D and zinc.  It has been shown to be effective for sleeplessness and insomnia, as well as for heart health, restless leg syndrome, bone strength, menopause insomnia and teenage insomnia.

Doctor P. of Houston, Texas says: “I had developed sleeping problems and took two different sleep medications over the course of several weeks. When I discontinued them, the insomnia came back even worse. I literally got about 20 hours of sleep in 6 weeks time. Sleep Minerals II was just what I needed. I*ve been taking it for a couple weeks and getting many hours of sleep a night. As a doctor I would definitely avoid prescribing sleeping drugs.  I would recommend Sleep Minerals II.”

For more information visit the Sleep Minerals II page.

Article source: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d-101

Health benefits of Vitamin D – The Top 10 Vitamin D Foods

Posted on by

Vitamin d foodsGreetings to you,

Included below is a great chart showing the top 10 Vitamin D rich foods. Vitamin D is known as the “Sunshine Vitamin” as spending time outdoors in the sun is known to increase vitamin D in the body via the skin. Our ancestors spent a considerable amount of their time outdoors, but for the first time in history, large amounts of the world population spend most of their time inside their offices and homes.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition recommends some regular sun exposure (usually 5–10 min of exposure of the arms and legs or the hands, arms, and face, 2 or 3 times per week) and increased dietary and supplemental vitamin D to guarantee getting enough and preventing a vitamin D deficiency. The foods highest in vitamin D are featured in the chart below.

Vitamin D supports healthy bones, reduces diabetes risk, strengthens the immune system, remedies insomnia and soothes skin conditions. One study on vitamin D supplements for people with insomnia was published in the journal “Medical Hypothesis”. The researchers followed 1500 patients over a 2 year period. A consistent level of vitamin D3 was maintained in their blood over many months.

This produced normal sleep in most of the participants, regardless of their type of sleep disorder. During the research, the authors discovered the presence of high concentrations of vitamin D “receiving sites” or “receptors” in those areas of the brain that are related to the onset and maintenance of sleep.

Vitamin D supports healthy bones. Vitamin D deficiency is a known cause of rickets (soft bones) in children and osteoporosis in adults.The pioneering nutritionist Adelle Davis writes about vitamin D in her book “Let’s Get Well”. She says: “Vitamin D increases calcium absorption…and controls the enzymes necessary to deposit minerals in bones and teeth. This vitamin can be produced on the skin by sunshine provided the oils have not been washed off (the skin).”

A study from the Journal of Investigative Medicine found that vitamin D has important functions beyond those of supporting calcium and bones in the body.  It concluded that vitamin D is a boost to immunity and a deficiency of the vitamin is common in autoimmune disease – a disease where the body’s immune system attacks healthy cells by mistake. These include multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease.

In the “Top 10 vitamin D Foods” chart below, the foods are shown with their amounts of vitamin D and what percentage of the recommended daily value (DV) they have. For example, 3 ounces of sardines provides 164 IU (international units) of vitamin D and this is 41% of the recommended daily intake of 400 IU. Daily values are developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to help provide a general guideline, however doses of 1,000 to 2,000 IU or more daily are not uncommon.

Good vitamin D foods include cod liver oil, sardines, salmon, mackerel, eggs, herring, raw maitake mushrooms, and vitamin D fortified milk and yogurt.

This health news is shared by Nutrition Breakthroughs, a provider of natural health articles and effective natural remedies since 2001. Nutrition Breakthroughs makes the original calcium and magnesium based sleep aid Sleep Minerals II, as well as Joints and More, the natural solution for joint relief, aches and pains and stronger hair and nails.

Enjoy the chart….

Vitamin D foodsProvided by www,NutritionBreakthroughs

Best Foods for Building Strong Bones

Posted on by
Reply

Greetings to you,

I’ve included an interesting chart below with the healthiest foods for building good bones.  Nuts, seeds and selected green vegetables are high in calcium and magnesium, which are known to strengthen bones.  Foods rich in vitamin D are also beneficial.

For vitamin D, spend a bit of time outside in the sunshine and also eat fish like tuna, mackerel and salmon.

To your good health,

Jobee Knight
Nutrition Breakthroughs
Maker of Natural Sleep Aids and Joint Relief Products

Nutrition Breakthroughs – October 28, 2014

Bone health: Beyond calcium and vitamin D (from Human Nutrition Research Center)

Posted on by
Reply

By: Jay Cao, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Human Nutrition Research Center

You probably know that women after menopause are more likely than men to lose bone and develop osteoporosis, a disease in which bones become porous and easy to break. That’s because women after menopause produce less estrogen, a hormone that helps prevent bone loss.

In the United States, about 10 million people, 80 percent of them women, aged 50 or older have osteoporosis. There are about 1.5 million people who suffer an osteoporotic-related fracture each year. Osteoporosis is responsible for more than $17 billion in direct annual health care expenditures.

Build healthy bones early

Bone is a living tissue that is constantly built and broken down throughout a person’s lifetime. The speed of building and breaking down determines bone mass. Bone mass is like a bank account in which balance is determined by deposits and withdraws. During the first two decades of women’s lives, bone formation outpaces breakdown, and bone grows in length and width. Women reach their peak bone mass, or maximum bone strength and density, before the age of 40 years. In general, women with higher peak bone mass achieved before menopause will be at lower risk for developing osteoporosis later in life.

Because almost half of the adult bone mass is acquired during the growth spurt before puberty, maximizing the peak bone mass in early life is crucial for the prevention of osteoporosis.

Although peak bone mass is strongly influenced by genetic factors that we cannot change, there are many other factors that we can modify to increase bone size and strength — such as nutrition, physical activity, and other lifestyle factors.

Calcium and vitamin D

Adequate calcium and vitamin D intakes are vital for normal bone development throughout womens’ lives. Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the human body. Vitamin D is essential for intestinal calcium absorption by the body. Vitamin D can be synthesized by the skin after exposure to ultraviolet light in sunlight. The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine recommends adult women should take 1,200 milligrams of calcium a day and 400 IU vitamin D/day. Women older than age 70 years should take 600 IU vitamin D/day.

Fortified cereals and juices and dairy products like milk and yogurt are excellent sources of calcium. Good sources of vitamin D include fatty fish, salmon, or fortified orange juice and cereal.

Other dietary factors

Despite many years of research on the roles of calcium and vitamin D in bone health, we still haven’t been able to prevent osteoporosis. Now, we know many other dietary factors may have equal or more important roles affecting calcium absorption, bone formation and bone resorption as calcium and vitamin D.

For example, inadequate magnesium intake affects calcium metabolism, resulting decreased bone strength and volume. Iron may help bone formation. Zinc is also necessary to bone structure. People with low protein intake usually have low intestinal calcium absorption and low bone mass. Antioxidants in foods can reduce bone loss, increase bone formation, and improve bone quality.

And being obese is bad for your bones — the key to getting enough nutrients necessary for healthy bones is to eat balanced foods.

Physical activity

As with many other health disorders such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension and chronic heart disease, physical activity, especially weight-bearing activity, increases your bone mass and reduces your risk of osteoporosis. No matter how old you are, or whether you are male or female, weight-bearing activity increases bone density.

Women especially should engage in at least 30 minutes physical activity per day, as recommended by MyPyramid, a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Among the many activities to consider are walking, jogging, running, stair-climbing, dancing, and swimming.

No matter what kind of physical activity you choose and how much physical activity you perform, as long as you are active physically, you are helping your bones.

You can visit the website at MyPyramid.gov for physical activity and dietary recommendations to improve your quality of life. These recommendations should also help you build healthy bones.

Comment from the blog author Nutrition Breakthroughs:  Calcium, magnesium and vitamin D have many beneficial roles in the body. Calcium strengthens bones, improves heart and stomach health, calms our nerves and muscles, and helps with sleeplessness and insomnia.  Magnesium helps remedy migraines and supports healthy blood pressure.  Calcium Supplements should be balanced and contain twice as much calcium as magnesium.

Sleep Minerals II from http://www.NutritionBreakthroughs.com is an effective sleep remedy for insomnia that contains absorbable forms of calcium and magnesium in a softgel, as well as Vitamin D and zinc.     Lyn K. of Los Angeles, CA. says: “Not only do I sleep much sounder with Sleep Minerals II, it seems to fill in a missing link in my health.  I feel stabilized and I’m carried through my day with a stability from the sound rest.  Also my heart and eyes feel healthier and stronger.”

For more information on Sleep Minerals II visit https://www.nutritionbreakthroughs.com/sleep-minerals-ii-effective-natural-sleep-aid-for-insomnia-nutrition-breakthroughs/

 

via ars.usda.gov