Love your BONES

It's time to show your body the appreciation it deserves

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Our bones have a big job to do, holding our weight as we go about each day.

In fact, you could say they're the ultimate support! Yet because we don't see them, we tend not to think about them until something goes wrong.

Osteoporosis is a disease that occurs when our bones lose their density, making them fragile, and leaving us more susceptible to breakages from falls and other injuries.

Women in particular are much more likely to develop osteoporosis after the age of 50, so it’s important to know how to keep them strong and healthy no matter what your age.

Bare bones

Until the age of around 30, we can increase our bone density by taking simple everyday lifestyle steps to build bone mass.

These measures include regular activities that involve weight-bearing exercise, as well as minimising alcohol and caffeine, and getting adequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D.

After this age, we should still continue these steps, but the focus shifts to preserving the bone density we already have.

“What we can do then is make sure we keep that bone as well as possible,” says medical researcher Dr Sandra Iuliano.

The meno factor