One great benefit of exercise is improving bone health. Our skeletons are the foundations of our bodies, and it’s tough to lead an active, fulfilling life if your bones are brittle or weak. Women are especially susceptible to osteoporosis as they age. Their bones can become more porous and vulnerable to breakage or shattering unless they build bone mass early in life and protect it with regular exercise and a calcium-fortified diet.
The Centers for Disease Control recommend thirty minutes of weight-bearing exercise a day to preserve bone health. They also recommend a diet rich in calcium. The good news is that you can easily add calcium to your diet by including a serving of low-fat yogurt to your morning routine, and stirring some spinach into your favourite pasta sauce at dinner. You can also eat some spinach or kale salads for lunch — leafy greens are heavy on the calcium, and they’re a great way to get fibre, too. You might also want to consider a greens shake each morning, or for lunch. Blend two fistfuls of spinach with some frozen fruit, a few chopped almonds, and some soy milk to create a calcium-rich smoothie that can carry you through your day.
Of course, we also recommend exercise to strengthen your muscles and help them keep your bones aligned in place. Keeping your spine in good alignment will help prevent back pain, and developing coordination and balance through exercise can help prevent damaging falls. Here are some of the classes we offer that can help increase your muscular-skeletal strength:
To sign up for any of the classes above, or to talk to one of our amazing personal trainers and kinesiologists about how to protect your bone health, get in touch today!
