Building Strong
BONES T
INTEGRATE YOUR HEALTH with Dr. Nicole Cotter
hose of you who are my age will remember marketing campaigns from the dairy industry that set out to convince America that milk was necessary to have strong bones. In the 1980s, TV commercials told us that “Milk: It does the body good.” Later, we would see a barrage of celebrities with white mustaches asking if we “Got Milk?” Even Superman was pictured with his cape flying in the wind, muscular
arms crossed over his chest, white milk mustache in place, next to the statement “even if you’re not from Krypton you can have bones of steel.” What does it really take to have strong bones? Bones are part of our intricate skeletal system. They provide structural support to the body, aid in movement, protect internal organs, store minerals and are a site for the production of blood cells. We are constantly breaking down and building bone, a process known as bone turnover. Bone turnover is a normal and necessary process, dependent on an adequate and constant supply of nutrients. Some of the key nutrient players in bone health are calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, and vitamin K. We typically achieve peak bone mass, or the most bone mass we will have in our lifetime, in our 20s. The peak bone mass we achieve is influenced by genetics and lifestyle factors, such as diet and physical activity. Bone density decreases with age and the decline is facilitated in women around menopause when we lose estrogen and its protective effect on our bones. Youth and adolescence are extremely important with regards to bone health because it is during this time that we are building our bone mass. Lifestyle during this time will help to shape the
March-April 2019 | LOLA MAGAZINE | Page 77