Our bones supply the structural support for our body and they also protect our organs so it’s really important to keep them strong and healthy.
Taking care of your bones
The good thing is it’s never too late to take care of our bones. We should exercise smartly, eat a healthy diet, watch our alcohol intake and quit smoking. Over the years the body’s hormones and our lifestyle changes so it really wise to make sure your skeleton gets all the protection it needs.
A Healthy Diet
Women are more likely to get osteoporosis than men, this is because we tend to have
thinner bones than men also estrogen decreases when women reach menopause and this, unfortunately, can cause bone loss. Try to stick to a bone friendly diet, eat plenty of fruit, vegetables, and healthy protein. Adults need calcium to maintain strong bones and if you’re not getting enough you could be putting your bones at risk. Calcium is so important for preventing osteoporosis as it’s a major building block of our bone tissue. Foods that are rich in calcium are seeds, cheese, beans, lentils, and yogurt. Tinned fish like sardines and salmon but make sure they have edible bones. Another essential nutrient is Vitamin D, it works with the Calcium to maintain and protect your bones. Vitamin D helps to increase the absorption of calcium. So whenever you can get outside and get plenty of sunshine.
Exercise for your bone health.
As we age it’s so important we keep up with our exercise regime being active is not adding years to our life it is adding life to our years! So what type of exercise should we be doing to protect our bones?
Weight-bearing activities will help strengthen your bones and muscles. We are weight-bearing when we are standing, so the type of exercise you can do includes walking, gardening, general housework, walking up and down the stairs and dancing (but no break dancing!) When we are doing any weight-bearing exercise bone increases in strength due to the push and pull of tendons and ligaments upon it. 
The National Guidelines on Physical Activity recommend that adults take part in at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity on five days a week (or 150 minutes a week). This should include strengthening exercises, perhaps using a free weight or resistance band.
We would suggest you find an activity you enjoy and find a friend to workout with. Our FLexercise friends will tell you it’s so much more fun exercising in a group or with friends. We have teachers up and down the country helping people in communities to stay fit or even get fitter. We’ve been doing this for nearly 90 years! Everything we do is based on the FLexercise system, which was pioneered in 1930 by Mary Bagot Stack to energise and strengthen the whole body. She believed that the body works best when posture and alignment are correctly placed and the body is energised.
You can read up about our journey here.
If you’re concerned about your bones we suggest you visit your GP. The Royal Osteoporosis Society is great charity, their website is full of help and advice.