The long hours of darkness stretching across the northern states mark the beginning of a season that poses significant risk to your bones. While 60-80 percent of your bone health appears to be genetic, multiple additional ingredients heavily influence your bones. A combination of circumstances during fall and winter should make the health of your bones a priority. Calcium is the perhaps the most important and most widely known influencer of the strength of your bones, but almost equally important are other lifestyle choices that may see a decline during the winter.
Why take care of your bones this winter?
You may see your bone health as a future concern or rarely consider it a priority. Here are a few reasons to remember your bone health this winter.
Your body is constantly replacing bone cells in a continuous cycle that requires continuous upkeep.
Young children and adolescents often grow bones so quickly that their bodies are not able to keep up with the cycle of growing and replacing bone cells, leading to low bone density and greater risk of fracture or rickets.After 40, your body’s ability to replace bone cells often decreases. Your peak bone mass is often reached before 40 or menopause for women. Yet, your peak bone mass is key for your body’s ability to maintain bone health through the rest of your life.During the winter, or low-light months, many are not able to keep up with the bone regrowth cycle their body requires. This loss of bone over winter months can add up over time, increasing your risk of serious conditions, such as osteoporosis.
Winter and Vitamin D
The greatest winter variable for your bones is vitamin D deficiency. Most of us get a majority of our vitamin D from the sun, but short days and indoor work environments make getting adequate sunshine in winter nearly impossible. While essential to all sorts of human functions, vitamin D is not easily accessible through foods. The best natural source of vitamin D in food is fatty fish, like salmon. Many dairy products have also been fortified with vitamin D, providing more sources to much of today’s population. However, research has demonstrated that sunshine remains the most critical source of vitamin D. One study showed that the low light of winter had a powerful effect on the vitamin D levels in young athletes participating in the study. At the beginning of the season, only 23 percent of the athletes had a vitamin D deficiency, but by the end of the season, in the heart of winter, 86 percent of the athletes were deficient in vitamin D.
Because of the dependence on sunshine for vitamin D, populations living in the northern latitudes are most commonly deficient. Others are also at greater risk, including those who are breastfeeding, elderly, and many people of color.
Your Bones and Vitamin D
Vitamin D is essential to proper absorption of calcium necessary for strong bones. Taking enough calcium is not enough to keep your bones strong, unless you also have enough vitamin D, too. Low vitamin D levels can result in rickets in children and osteoporosis in older adults. But low levels of vitamin D affect more than just your bones when you are young or old. Some researchers are seeing a connection between low levels of vitamin D and overuse injuries in young athletes and finding many suffer seasonal bone loss in the northern states.
As winter sneaks towards us, your bones may need another source of vitamin D to keep healthy and strong. Consider taking a vitamin D supplement this winter. Vitamin D supplementation helps strengthen bones even after a diagnosis of osteoporosis. It can also help prevent seasonal bone loss because of low light. Daily intake recommendations range from 600 IUs daily to 2,000 IUs daily. It is important to note that taking too much vitamin D can result in conditions like hypercalcemia. Stick to the daily recommended doses unless your doctor prescribes a higher daily dose.
Increasing your vitamin D supplementation helps more than just your bones. Check out this article to discover more benefits of vitamin D.
Exercise for Your Bones
During the winter, your bones typically face another challenging circumstance. Fewer people regularly exercise in the winter. The dark and cold make it more difficult to exercise outside and holiday busyness can make it difficult to prioritize. However, exercising is critical for the health of your bones. Multiple studies confirm that regular exercise helps spur bone cell replacement, leading to stronger, more dense bones.
Balance your exercise routine with both cardio and strength or weight training for best bone support. Impact exercises, like jogging, stair running, or many sports, best support your bone’s health. Yoga, resistance band training, and Pilates provide excellent strength training to support your bones.
Other Lifestyle Choices for Your Bones’ Health
While not necessarily seasonal, your alcohol and smoking habits can negatively impact your bones this winter. Drinking moderately does not seem to damage your bones, but drinking more than 2 or 3 drinks per day may harm your bones. As the holiday season continues, consider limiting your alcohol and keeping your bones healthier.
Smoking, detrimental for so many systems of your body, is unhealthy for your bones. Studies across decades have confirmed that chances of osteoporosis increase with cigarette or snuff use.
Whatever your stage of life, taking care of your bones is important this winter. As you look to the future or as you consider managing current health concerns, you can make a few lifestyle choices this winter to protect the health of your bones.
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10248337/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10064807/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6727385/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10540648/
https://alternativemedicine.com/immunity/vitamin-d-an-important-factor-for-overall-health/
https://alternativemedicine.com/nutrition/best-natural-sources-of-vitamin-d/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7327938/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7667301/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7554947/
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