Tagged with 'bone-health'

Recent research suggests we need much more vitamin D than previously thought for optimal immune function and long-term health.

My senior year in college, I was unable to compete in our conference finals track meet due to an injury, and what I would later find out was a stress fracture—my second one in four years. It doesn’t mean I didn’t try to run, because I did; but it hurt so bad I could barely walk, let alone run. I was so disappointed because this meet was what I trained for all season. The injury took weeks to heal and required crutches, lots of rest, and proper nutrition. Here’s some information about stress fractures and the nutrition involved in healing bone.

What Is a Stress Fracture?

A stress fracture is an overuse injury, and is one of the most common sports injuries. It occurs when muscles become fatigued and are unable to absorb added shock. Eventually, the fatigued muscle transfers the overload of stress to the bone causing a tiny crack in the bone, aka: a stress fracture.

What Causes a Stress Fracture?

Stress fractures are often the result of increasing the amount or intensity of an activity too rapidly. They also can be caused by the impact of an unfamiliar surface (soft court to a hard court), improper equipment (ie: shoes), and increased physical stress (ie: an athlete who has a substantial increase in playing time). The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons says that more than 50% of all stress fractures occur in the lower leg or feet.

Are Women More Susceptible to Stress Fractures than Men?

Studies have shown female athletes seem to experience more stress fractures than males. Many orthopedic surgeons attribute this to a condition called “the female athlete triad,” which consists of disordered eating patterns, amenorrhea (infrequent menstrual cycle), and osteoporosis. As a female’s bone mass decreases, her chances of getting a stress fracture increases.

It isn’t uncommon for athletic women to consume a very low-calorie and low-protein diet. This drastic reduction in food intake can lead to amenorrhea. Research suggests amenorrheic athletes have a four and one-half times higher risk for suffering a stress fracture than do regularly menstruating athletes. Eating a balanced diet with adequate calories can enhance restarting menses, provide adequate protein for building and protecting muscles, and enhance overall health.

Nutrients Involved in Bone Rebuilding

Stress fractures need proper food and nutrition to optimize their healing ability. Consume adequate amounts of the following nutrients:

Vitamin D

In order to properly absorb the calcium you consume, you need enough vitamin D. Vitamin D plays a very large role in protecting and preventing you from getting a stress fracture. Every single cell in the human body has a vitamin D receptor on it. Vitamin D stimulates calcium absorption in the gut, and balances calcium and phosphate levels in the blood. Keeping calcium and phosphate levels balanced allows for healthy bone mineralization. Osteoblasts and Osteoclasts, the cells that build and remodel our bones, require vitamin D to function. Without proper amounts of vitamin D, bones will become brittle and thin.

Vitamin K

It’s an important part of the processes that bind calcium to bone and is required for proper formation of the osteocalcin bone protein.  

Anti-Inflammatory Nutrients

When a stress fracture occurs, there is inflammation so free radicals are generated. Antioxidants help your body fight damaging free radicals that hurt cells and damage tissue trying to repair the stress fracture. Anti-inflammatory nutrients include vitamin C, quercetin, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Magnesium

Sixty percent of the magnesium in your body is stored in bone tissue, and it has multiple key roles in bone health. Magnesium helps to change vitamin D₂ into vitamin D₃, its active form, which increases calcium absorption. Magnesium contributes to the structure of bones and regulates calcium transport into the bones. Magnesium also triggers the hormone calcitonin, which helps protect the bones when the body is imbalanced, by pulling calcium from the blood and tissues back into the bones.

Potassium

Potassium is associated with greater gains in hip and whole body bone mineral density among young female distance runners.

Calcium

Your body requires proper amounts of calcium to help repair your stress fracture. Under circumstances when you can’t get enough calcium from food, a calcium supplement may be warranted. Calcium supplements are also recommended for people who are lactose intolerant, dislike or are allergic to dairy products, or can’t meet calcium requirements through dietary means in general.

The Recommended Dietary Allowances for calcium are currently 1,300 mg/day for males and females age 9-18, 1000 mg/day for males and females age 19-30, and for females who are estrogen-deficient and not menstruating, it has been recommended they increase their calcium intake to total 1,500 mg/day.

Protein

A protein deficiency, along with an overall calorie-deficient diet, is associated with medical problems, specifically loss of regular menstrual cycles. A female’s estrogen levels decline when menstruation stops, and this drop in estrogen leaves your bones more prone to a stress fracture.

The nutrients listed hold the potential power to prevent and protect you from a stress fracture.

In Health and Happiness,

Kelly Harrington, MS, RDN

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Healthy Goods

References:

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Stress Fractures.

Nieves JW et al. Nutritional factors that influence change in bone density and stress fracture risk among young female cross-country runners. 2010 Aug;2(8):740-50.

Carbon, R., Sambrook, P.N., Deakin, V., Fricker, P., Eisman, J.A., Kelly, P., Maguire, K., Yeates, M.G. Bone density of elite female athletes with stress fractures. The Medical Journal of Australia. 153:373-376, 1990. 

New research suggests people with traumatic bone fractures often have low levels of vitamin D.

The research validates the current understanding of vitamin D, in that vitamin D is important in repairing bone damage.

Researchers from the University of Missouri looked at vitamin D levels in 900 adults who suffered traumatic bone fractures from incidents like falls and car crashes.

Seventy-nine percent of men and 76 percent of women had deficient vitamin D levels. Furthermore, 40 percent of the women and 38 percent of the men had severely low vitamin D levels.

The research was presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. Based on the findings, the researchers have started prescribing vitamin D medication for nearly all patients with broken bones as a protective measure to reduce the risk of healing problems.

“More research is needed to demonstrate whether vitamin D medications can reduce the risk of bones not healing properly,” Brett Crist said, an associate professor of orthopedic surgery. “But we know vitamin D is required for repairing damage to bones, and for most people there is very little risk in taking vitamin D medications. At this point, we believe it’s a reasonable step for physicians to prescribe the medication as a protective measure.”

People should talk to their doctor before using vitamin D supplements.

In Health and Happiness,

Kelly Harrington, MS, RDN

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Healthy Goods

Reference:

1. US News. Vitamin D Deficiency Often Seen in Traumatic Bone Breaks. 2013.

2. Vitamin D Council. 

To survive, our body requires a tightly controlled pH level in the blood between 7.35 to 7.45, which is slightly more alkaline than pure water. Levels of pH vary in different locations of our body. For example, our stomach is very acidic, with a pH of 3.5 or less, so it can break down food. Our urine’s pH changes, depending on what we eat – that's how our body keeps the level in our blood steady.

Our modern diet has been suggested to increase the acidity of our body. The thought is certain foods, like meat, wheat, refined sugar, and processed foods, cause our body to produce acid, which is harmful for us.

People who believe in eating more alkaline foods and less acidic foods say even though acid-producing foods shift our pH balance for only a little while, if we keep shifting our blood pH over and over, we can cause long-lasting acidity.

According to research, following an alkaline diet may result in a number of health benefits, including:

1. In an alkaline diet, increasing fruits and vegetables improves the Potassium/Sodium ratio and may benefit bone health.

2. A higher intake of foods rich in potassium, such as fruits and vegetables, may reduce muscle wasting in older men and women.

3. Increasing fruits and vegetables in an alkaline diet may relieve chronic diseases such as hypertension and stroke.

4. The resultant increase in growth hormone with an alkaline diet may improve many outcomes from cardiovascular health to memory and cognition.

5. A decreased risk of developing calcium-forming kidney stones.

6. An alkaline diet provides more magnesium, which is required for the function of many enzyme systems. Available magnesium, which is required to activate vitamin D, would result in numerous added benefits vitamin D provides.

7. Alkalinity may result in added benefit for some chemotherapeutic agents that require a higher pH.

Examples of Foods with a Moderate to Strong Alkaline Effect

Watermelon, Lemons, Limes, Cantaloupe, Honeydew, Celery, Mango, Papaya, Peaches, Nectarines, Grapefruit, Oranges, Parsley, Seaweed, Sweet Seedless Grapes, Watercress, Asparagus, Kiwi, Pears, Apples, Pineapple, Apricots, Raisins, Most Greens (ie: Kale, Spinach), Alfalfa Sprouts, Most Herbs, Peas, Lettuce, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Avocados, Bananas, Garlic, Ginger

Examples of Foods with a Moderate to Strong Acid Effect:

Alcohol, Soda Pop, Tobacco, Coffee, White Sugar, Refined Salt, Artificial Ssweeteners, White Flour Products, Seafood, White Vinegar, Barley, Most Boxed Cereals, Cheese, Most Beans, Flesh Meats, Most types of Bread, Peanut butter, Dried Fruit, Cranberries

Check out this chart to see more information about High, Medium, and Low Alkaline and Acid foods.

As you can see, one of the main emphasis when eating alkaline is lots of fruits and vegetables. When you look at an alkaline diet closely, it is really just overall healthy eating. Although the foods on this list are only examples, if you are eating a lot of grains, flour products, and animal foods, and washing them down with coffee, soda, and milk, you will most certainly improve your health by replacing some of your food and beverage choices with fresh fruits and vegetables. 

Bottom line: There may be some value in considering an alkaline diet in reducing morbidity and mortality from chronic diseases. As with many topics related to nutrition, further studies are warranted in this area of nutrition/medicine. The ideal scenario is to make fresh fruits and vegetables the cornerstone of your diet.

In Health and Happiness,

Kelly Harrington, MS, RDN

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Live Superfoods

References:

1. Waugh A, Grant A. Anatomy and Physiology in Health and Illness. 10th edition. Philadelphia, Pa, USA: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2007.

2. Lindeman RD, Goldman R. Anatomic and physiologic age changes in the kidney. Experimental Gerontology. 1986;21(4-5):379–406. 

3. Schwalfenberg GK. The Alkaline Diet: Is There Evidence That an Alkaline pH Diet Benefits Health. J Environ Public Health. 2012; 2012: 727630.