friday 4/26/13..... "Running Gracefully"

"Running Gracefully":

Run 400
10 clean&jerks
Run 400
10 clean&jerks
Run 400
10 clean&jerks
Run 400   

*from the Healthy Home Economist

Could it be that bone health is simply in the eyes of the beholder?

A new study seems to indicate as much. Postmenopausal women in their 40′s and 50′s with deep wrinkles on their face and/or neck had significantly lower bone density than women who did not.

Women who had undergone any cosmetic skin procedures or were taking hormone replacement therapy drugs were excluded from the study.

Skin firmness of the 114 study participants was measured with a device called a durometer.   Bone density was also analyzed using xrays.

The potential link between skin and bone health is not surprising given that skin and bone share common protein building blocks called collagens.   Aging contributes to collagen breakdown in the skin which leads to sagging and wrinkling.   These changes may potentially cause bone thinning as well.

Researchers noted the relationship between wrinkles and bone density in every single bone tested which included hip, heel, and lumbar (spine).   In addition, this relationship existed regardless of body fat percentage and age.

While this was a small study and more research is clearly needed, it does seem to indicate that problems with bone density can be identified much earlier and less expensively than previously thought.  A simple glance in the mirror may be all that is required to spur women to action that bone health is faltering.

Drugs to Prevent Bone Loss Don’t Work

If a woman is concerned about wrinkles and bone health, what is she to do?

Drugs to treat bone loss such as Fosamax and other biphosphenates have been shown to contribute to serious leg fractures and hip breaks leading doctors to rethink the long term drug approach to osteoporosis. Fosamax has even been shown to double the risk of atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat).

Clearly, diet instead of drugs is the preferable way to prevent bone loss – but which diet changes would be most effective?

Diet To Promote Bone Health and Smooth Skin!

In Traditional Societies, copious use of calcium and collagen rich bone broths in the making of soups and stews were used to prevent degeneration in older members.  In addition, revered foods such as bone marrow, fish eggs, grassfed butter, egg yolks, and organ meats were provided to ensure health and physical vitality well into old age.

With degenerative disease such as osteoporosis virtually unknown in these cultures, the focus on foods rich in fat soluble vitamins A, D, and K in the post childbearing years was clearly effective.

The bonus from consuming easily assimilated collagens from homemade bone broths and foods high in the fat soluble activators is smooth, healthy skin!   There is simply no need to treat wrinkles and bone loss with cosmetic procedures and drugs with dangerous side effects when simple changes to the diet can ensure beauty and health from the inside out!

Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist.com