Your bones might need a reboot
+ Meet the nurse who survived a stroke, got married and became a stepmom in her early 50s
How to maintain strong, healthy bones in midlife
By Sally Duffin
Peri/menopause comes with a lot of loud and obvious signs like hot flashes, anxiety, brain fog, and insomnia. But some of the more subtle changes happen beneath the skin, deep in our bones. And if we want to stay fit and active in our senior years, we need to maintain strong, healthy bones in midlife. Here’s how we do it.
How do we build bones?
Now you might be thinking, wait, didn’t I finish with bone growth when I was a teen? And you’d be right! Bones are pretty much fully grown by the time you reach your late teens. But you continue to lay down bone density until your late twenties. This density in the bone tissue is what makes bones strong and able to weather the impact of doing sports and everyday activities.
Bones never really stop regenerating. Even after we reach peak bone density in our twenties, bones continue their cycle of building and breaking down. We have two different types of bone cells responsible for this process:
Osteoblasts build new bone tissue
Osteoclasts break down and resorb old bone tissue.
Between them, these cells renew your entire skeleton every 5 to 10 years!
Isn’t bone health all about calcium?
Calcium is important for bone health but it’s not the only player. Bones are made of a combination of protein, collagen (a specific type of protein), and minerals – mostly calcium and phosphorus, with magnesium, zinc, copper, manganese, and boron in the mix too.
Why is estrogen important for bone health?
Estrogen is so much more than a reproductive hormone. There are receptors for this hardworking hormone all over the body – it interacts with gut health, brain function, sleep patterns, weight distribution, and more – including bones.
In bone tissue, estrogen regulates the activity of osteoclasts and osteoblasts, those bone-building and bone breakdown cells. It makes sure that we’re creating enough new bone to keep pace with the breakdown so that bones stay dense and strong.
Did you know?
Diets high in ultra-processed foods like fast food, ready meals, and candy harm bone health. Ultra-processed foods have been shown to disrupt bone growth and bone density and lead to a higher fracture risk.
Meet Michelle Parlato Cohen, the stroke-surviving nurse embracing resilience
I’m on the cusp of 52 and embracing what it means to be a woman at my age, in this day and age, as an authentic but ever-evolving human. If we get more than one life as a part of some sort of after-world evolutionary ladder, I would say that I was given this life to learn resilience and how to love your life — even when it feels like it gives you lemons. It’s a good thing that I love lemonade…especially mixed with vodka.
“I’m in the midst of living as a 30-year-old Michelle, smack in the middle of her 50-year-old life.”
I’m learning SO much more as I grow older, and intend on doing so until I’m dead and disposed of in as environmentally sound a manner as possible. You know what I mean, right? Like, how to be a damned HELPER in this crazy world, in ways both big and small.
I’m still learning how to better display my very passionate personality in positive ways when I am displeased (it’s freaking tough!). At this point in life, perhaps my greatest challenges are trying to figure out how to tolerate the remaining years of work I must endure, helping to raise children far later in life than I would have chosen as a biological parent, and keeping my cool regarding the existence of my husband’s ex-wife.
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