Over 40 million American adults are affected by osteoporosis. Some of them have it and don’t realize it, while others are at high risk because of low bone mass. About one in two women and one in four men over 50 will fracture a bone because of osteoporosis. Hip fractures in the United States may even triple by 2020, due to the previous lack of concern regarding bone health.
What Is Osteoporosis?
Meaning “porous bones,” osteoporosis occurs when bone density weakens and thins, ultimately making bones more fragile and prone to fractures or breaks. More bone is formed during the young adult years, but bones start to slowly lose density between ages 30-40. When the body can no longer maintain bone formation with proper nutrition, bone density decreases and can result in osteoporosis.
Bones require lots of nutrients to remain strong and healthy. While calcium is needed maintain bone health, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc are necessary to form healthy bone mass. Vitamin D aids with calcium absorption and zinc works to generate new bone cells. All this is to suggest that consuming foods with these nutrients can aid in preserving bone mass and prevent protein loss from the matrix part of bones. It is also recommended to avoid salty foods, refined sugars, carbonated beverages, alcohol, and foods containing inorganic oxalates.
Fun Fact: A study, which involved over 70,000 women, found that there was no evidence to support the claim that higher milk intake reduces bone fractures. On the contrary, women who drank two or more glasses of milk every day had an increased risk of 45% for hip fractures, as opposed to women who consumed one glass of milk a week or no milk at all.
To help you build stronger bones, start consuming the following juice recipes. We promise that they don’t taste like grass. For all of the juices, process the ingredients through a juicer and drink the juice within 15 minutes of making it.
Juice #1
- 2 Granny Smith apples, cored
- ½ head of broccoli
- 1 medium cucumber
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- 1 slice of lemon
Juice #2
- 2 carrots
- 2 Granny Smith apples, cored
- 2 medium tomatoes
Juice #3
- ½ medium-sized pineapple, peeled and cubed
- 10 kale leaves
- 1 medium cucumber
- ½ a lemon
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- 2 ribs of celery
