I speaking to one of the ladies in our one to one kickstart the other day
And we got talking about resistance exercise, low impact exercise, swimming and then bone health..
With her mentioning she always stuck to swimming as it was low impact and now she is thinking she got it wrong as she has osteopenia (precursor for osteoporosis) ..
Now, I want to reassure you that swimming is still very good.
Sure, there are fewer benefits for bone density when swimming because there is no mechanical stress on the skeleton…
But it is still good exercise and if you enjoy it?
Keep doing it…
But…
I would say, can you add in low impact resistance exercise ?
Why?
Well, here is a quick summary:
→ Osteoporotic fractures Costs £4 billion per annum in the UK
→ Decline in bone mass happens from 34 and is accelerated by menopause / loss of estrogen
→ 1 in 2 women will get an osteoporotic fracture whereas just 1 in 5 men will get one
→ 10% of those who have a hip fracture die within 1 month, 33% die within a year
Now, between the ages of 20-30 years we achieve peak bone mass..
This is something that right now we cannot do much about…
The Good NEWS?…
you can impact what happens NOW..
Osteopenia happens first –a bit like prediabetes is to Type 2 diabetes.
You can slow or reverse this process by:
1→ Resistance exercising → This helps bone density and has been shown to lower your risks of falls and fractures. Just like muscle, use it or lose it.
2→ Calcium and Vitamin D → Research in Care homes shows that upping dairy portions is protective against falls and fractures
3→ Vitamin K2 → Seems to be protective for perimenopausal and postmenopausal women BUT NOT MEN. Interesting
4→ Eating meat? Controversial with much of what the media are saying right now, but data is data.
A 2020 Study (the EPIC Oxford Study) compared meat eaters, fish eaters, vegetarians, and vegans for fractures.
They show that for every 1000 people, there are 14.9 more fractures in people following a vegan diet than a meat diet, for every 1000 people there are 2.9 more fractures in fish eaters or vegetarian diets.
5→ Phytoestrogens → found in soy, for example, may be protective
Hope this helps 🙂
Eat your protein, get your calcium, vitamin D, resistance exercise and control what you can (not what you wish you can).
Not sure where to start ?
Our 28 Day Kickstart might be for you.
Specifically for women 40+ and 50+
Who want the plan and accountability to do it.
And know what they are doing is safe and effective.
Message me with ‘Kickstart’ and I will get you the details
Matt