The Best Ways to Improve Bone Health for Aging Adults

About 54 million Americans have either osteoporosis or osteopenia, known as low bone density. By 2040, older adults are expected to be treated for more than 3.2 million fractures each year.

Keeping your bones strong and healthy is important throughout your entire life, but especially as you age. Half of women over the age of 50 and one quarter of men over the age of 50 have low bone density.

Freda Hannafon, RN, MSN, FNP-C, is a nurse practitioner with Rochester Regional Health who focuses on bone health and explains how to learn your bone density, the stages of life when bone health are most important, and ways you can improve your bone density.

Risk factors for poor bone health

Until someone suffers a fracture, there are no warning signs or symptoms of osteoporosis. This ‘silent disease’ is part of what makes poor bone health so dangerous.

“Because bones don’t hurt as they weaken, in the same way that someone’s joints might hurt with osteoarthritis, it makes it more difficult for patients to believe that they really have osteoporosis because they're not feeling any signs,” Hannafon said.

Some people are more at risk for poor bone health and osteoporosis based on modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors.

Risk factors for poor bone health that can be changed include:

• Smoking
• Alcohol use
• Lack of physical activity
• Poor nutrition

Risk factors for poor bone health that cannot be changed include:

• Certain medical conditions
• Age-related estrogen/testosterone loss
• Family history of osteoporosis
• Certain medications

The Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation recommends a DEXA scan for women ages 65+ and men ages 70+ or with at least one risk factor. If your primary care provider or OBGYN provider believes you should have a bone density scan done, they are typically covered by most insurance plans.

Ways to improve bone health

Since we start developing our bones in childhood, good bone health truly matters from a young age. Most healthy children and young adults who get regular physical activity and good nutrition develop about 90 percent of their bones by their late 20s.

For adults who need to start improving their bone health, orthopedic providers suggest a range of proactive strategies, including nutrition and lifestyle changes.

Physical activity

Weight-bearing activities – physical activities where you are on your feet bearing weight and there is an impact to your bones – are helpful in strengthening your bones. Healthcare providers recommend getting 30 minutes of moderate physical exercise most days each week. This includes:

• Brisk walking/running
• Hiking
• Aerobics
• Tennis
• Lifting light weights/resistance bands

Not everyone can engage in all these sports or forms of exercise, but being generally active will help you maintain strong bone health for longer.

Vitamins and minerals

Our bodies need specific nutrients to make new bone cells and help consolidate our bone strength.

Many adults take supplements or multivitamins to get their daily value of these vitamins and minerals, but eating foods that are rich in calcium, vitamin D, and protein is the best way for your body to absorb them.

The average adult needs:

• 1,000-1,200 mg of calcium a day
• 400-1,000 units of vitamin D a day
• 2 grams of protein per kilogram you weigh

Cheese, yogurt and other dairy products, along with broccoli, kale, and bok choy are rich in calcium. Vitamin D can be found in eggs, mushrooms, and fortified dairy products, and lean meats, nuts, and legumes contain plenty of protein.

“Look at the labels on your foods. There are small amounts of the vitamins and minerals we need in many different foods,” Hannafon said. “They do add up over the course of a day. Try to get at least half of the recommended daily allowance from food and if you still need more, then add a supplement.”