It is often said that calcium is good for our bone and people advise us to drink milk for stronger bones. For this reason, calcium supplement may help to prevent osteoporosis and bone loss. Bones are essential parts of our body and without them we are just a big lump of organs and soft tissue. Other than for their structural purposes, bones are also essential to protect our inner organs. Bones are important to allow us to move our body. There are also multiple metabolic functions that require the presence of our bones, such as balanced pH, mineral storage and others.
Due to their immense benefits, it is important for us to properly protect and safeguard our bones. However, it is important to know that higher intake of calcium isn’t enough to strengthen our skeletal structure. In fact, people could still suffer from hip fracture despite their increased calcium consumption. Vitamin D is an essential substance if we want to improve the health of our bones. People may not get enough vitamin D if they don’t get adequate vitamin D exposure. Without enough vitamin D, less calcium will be absorbed by our body and our bones won’t be sufficiently mineralized.
So, even if we take plenty of calcium all day long, there would be limited benefits if we have vitamin D deficiency. In this case, we should try to get enough vitamin D and it may involve minimal changes in daily lives. As an example, by having more sun exposure in one day, we could improve our bone quality. During the winter, we may need to have longer sun exposure, but it is often not possible, especially if it is heavily cloudy and snowy for a couple of weeks at a time. Kids may require 600 IU of vitamin D each day, while in some cases, adults could require a mega dose of 50,000 IU each day.
Vitamin K is another substance that is needed and it’s one of the less appreciated nutrients. Vitamin K is more than just about blood clotting, because it is also an essential component for enhancing our bone mass. Essential proteins in our bone can be created with the presence of vitamin K. Osteocalcin is needed to bind calcium in the bone matrix. It is also essential to promote proper mineralization. Without enough osteocalcin, our bone will be weaker. We could find vitamin K1 in green vegetables and it is essential to achieve proper blood clotting.
Vitamin K2 is produced in the bacteria lining on the gastrointestinal tract. This can be performed by converting some amount of K1 into K2. Our bone can be strengthened if we have enough vitamin K2 in our body. Because this vitamin is produced in our body, we should make sure that we have enough vitamin K1, which can be obtained from leafy green vegetables. An essential mineral that we should have to improve our bone is magnesium. One big problem is if our food doesn’t contain enough magnesium and vitamin K1. Other than leafy green vegetables, we should also eat enough whole grains, beans and nuts.