Eating a diet rich in nutrients that build strong bones is important at any age. Check out these nutrition tips to help keep your baby’s bones healthy.
The most important period for bone growth and development is in childhood and adolescence.
Building strong bones during this period is essential to maintain healthy bones throughout life. Strong bones reduce the risk of bone complications such as rickets in children and osteoporosis in adults.
Rickets is a condition where bones become soft and can lead to deformities while osteoporosis is a condition in which bones become weak and brittle and can lead to pain and disability from fractures. Childhood is an important time to learn about healthy eating and exercise habits. This will help your child develop strong bones and maintain a healthy weight.
Dietary intake and bone growth
Calcium
Calcium is important for the normal development of bones in childhood and adolescence. It is also essential for building and maintaining strong bones. Not consuming enough calcium can result in low bone density, impacting bone health as you age. During adolescence, the amount of calcium in the diet exceeds normal requirements. At this stage, bone grows faster than at any other stage in life. Calcium is also important for normal blood clotting and regulation of muscle contraction.
Dietary sources of calcium include:
- Milk, cheese, and other dairy products.
- Yogurt, particularly reduced-fat options.
- Green leafy vegetables such as kale, amaranth, and broccoli.
- Spinach is also high in calcium but contains oxalate, which inhibits calcium uptake in the body.
- Seeds such as sesame and sunflower
- Dried beans
- Fortified grain-based food especially from wheat and maize flour
To maintain the calcium in vegetables, cook them in small amounts of water for the shortest time possible.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is also one of the necessary nutrients that build strong bones. It is also essential for the absorption of calcium and phosphorus. Both are important minerals for strong and healthy bones. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to rickets and osteoporosis.
Dietary sources of vitamin D are limited but skin exposure to the sunlight for at least 10-15 minutes helps get most of the vitamin D. Its production is affected by skin pigmentation, time of day, season, and thickness of clothing. The larger the skin surface area exposed to the sunlight the more vitamin D it will absorb.
You can also obtain vitamin D from oily fish, vitamin D-fortified oils, and breakfast cereals.
Daily supplementation of vitamin D is also essential to maintain the required amounts in the body.
Noteworthy, vitamin D is required for absorption and maintaining the normal concentration of calcium and phosphorus required in blood for normal bone mineralization.
Magnesium, potassium, and proteins
Magnesium is important in maintaining healthy bones and increasing bone density. It prevents the onset of osteoporosis. Dietary sources of magnesium include dark green vegetables, whole grain cereals, seeds, nuts, and legumes.
Potassium aids in neutralizing acidity and reducing calcium loss from bones. This leads to a useful outcome on bone mineral density. You can find potassium in foods like oranges, tomatoes, potatoes, avocados, and more.
Adequate protein intake is essential for increasing muscle mass and calcium absorption. It also preserves bone and muscle mass with aging. You can obtain protein from animal sources like fish, milk, eggs, and meat, as well as plant-based options such as legumes and nuts.
Physical activity and bone health
Bones are living tissues that get stronger when you use them. Physical activity will help strengthen your child’s muscles and keep their bones strong. This makes them less likely to have fractures by maintaining bone strength. Activities that involve using your body against resistance such as jumping and skipping rope are important for bone growth.
You should encourage your child to do outdoor activities and avoid a lot of time being indoors and inactive. Your child needs at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day and this will help them build healthy bones. Spending too much time indoors also affects the amount of vitamin D their body makes.
Apart from strengthening muscles and bones, physical exercise also helps your child maintain a healthy weight and improve mental health. It also reduces the risk of childhood obesity and other lifestyle diseases that come later in life.
Maintaining a balanced diet combined with physical activity is key to the development of healthy and strong bones. Physical activity helps your child maintain a healthy weight and increases their chance of living a longer, healthier life.