Your child’s bone-health is incredibly important—your bones not only allow for structure and movement, they also store essential vitamins and minerals that support the immune system and they protect vital organs from harm. Knowing this is such an important part of your child’s health and safety, here are a few ways you can help your kids grow those strong bones they need.
Encourage Exercise
Bones are made of living tissues bound together in an incredibly hard mass. According to Newport Orthopedic Institute, just like with muscle, as bones feel strain and impact, the human body responds by building more of that material. Bones become denser in order to better sustain the body. Exercise also builds muscles that surround the bones and provide them with the necessary pressure and movement for strong bones. Finally, the coordination and balance that is required to run, jump, and play helps the body to learn how to use its own bones correctly!
Add Key Nutrients to Their Diet
Bones require an impressive list of vitamins and minerals in order to grow: omega-3 fats, vitamins D, K and C, zinc and magnesium are some! Each of these has a different role in helping bones to form. For example, according to Stellar Kids, Vitamin D can help kids absorb calcium. Calcium is the building block of the bone, so ingesting enough vitamin D ensures that your child has enough calcium to create bones at all! Vitamin C helps cells bond, zinc helps bone breaks to heal through regeneration, and vitamin K helps proteins do their job in forming and strengthening bones. Include foods like green leafy vegetables, fish or eggs, and grains into your child’s diet—these foods contain high levels of those essential vitamins and minerals that will strengthen your children’s bones.
Don’t Use Low Calorie Diets
Speaking of food: don’t use low calorie diets. Your children are developing and growing extremely quickly! They need calories to fuel them and provide muscle and bone-building nutrients. Low calorie diets mean low metabolisms, loss of muscle mass, and therefore low bone density. Well-balanced diets prevent the deterioration of bones, known as “osteoporosis”, in which bones become weak and brittle and can break or fracture easily. According to VeryWell Health, this condition in children can seriously impact the lifelong health and functionality of your child’s skeleton.
Protect your child’s overall health and quality of life by protecting and supporting proper bone health and development. Exercise and a nutrient-rich diet will help their bodies develop as needed for a full and active lifestyle!
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