7 hours Ago By Sophie Buchan
A BBC Morning Live doctor has told TV viewers they can protect against thin and weak bones with one drink costing as little as 85p. And whilst many people think the condition only affects the elderly, people from as early as their 30s are at risk. Speaking on BBC Morning Live, Dr Tom Naylor, an orthopaedic surgeon, revealed that when we hit our mid-thirties, "the natural ageing process means that our bones start to grow a bit thinner and weaker.
All the bones in our body go through a natural recycling process where they are broken down and built back up: we call it bone turnover. "As we age, that balance falls out of sync so the bones are broken down more than they're made up. What that does is it changes the density of the bone, it changes the mineral content, so the stuff that normally gives the bones the strength starts to reduce.
" Talking about osteoporosis - a health condition which weakens bones, making them fragile and more likely to break - the doctor said that areas such as the hip, spine and wrists are commonly affected. The condition develops slowly over several years and despite there being no obvious symptoms, the health expert said that the first sign is that people tend to fall more frequently and only then do they tend to be diagnosed. Talking about diet and how it affects our bones, Dr Nayor explained: "The things we talk about mainly are calcium and Vitamin D so those are really important in bone turnover and maintaining bone mineral quantity.
There was a study in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) that found that older adults that were given a diet that is higher in calcium rich protein foods - so milk, yoghurt and cheese - actually reduced their risk of fractures overall by 33%". It also reduced their risk of falls in general, he added. He highlighted that "skimmed-milk has equal amounts of calcium that you need without the fat" - meaning the 85p drink could do wonders for your diet, and you don't need to spend a lot of money on it.
In fact, you probably have the green lid drink in your home now. He further said guidelines suggest we should have "about 700mg of calcium intake. If you have a balanced and varied diet, especially if you have dairy, it is really easy to get on board this amount of calcium.
" A post shared by Tom Naylor (@drtom_onice) All of these are high in calcium and you should aim to include the following in your diet: Green leafy vegetables Tofu Milk Cheese Fish Plant based drinks He also stressed that Vitamin D is another crucial thing to add to our diet and due to little sunlight during these colder months, it's worth adding more good foods to your diet to help these levels. You can try adding the following Vitamin D rich foods to your diet such as: Oily fish Egg yolks Breakfast cereal Red meat You can also try talking supplements which people are encouraged to take all year round, even in summer - especially if you are more at risk of having low levels..
