7 Essential Orthopaedic Vitamins and Minerals you need for healthy aging

1. Calcium

Loss of calcium increases with the age and on the other hand its absorption reduces as you grow. Loss of calcium is more common in women than men, especially after menopause in females reduction in calcium level inclines. 

Your body cannot make calcium. Body gets calcium only from the food eat or from the supplements.

Calcium is required for healthy bones. With growing age you losses more calcium thus your bones are becoming brittle and weak. This condition is known as Osteoporosis. 

Sources of Calcium;

• Milk
• Cheese
• Ice cream
• Leafy green vegetables, such as spinach and collard greens
• Salmon
• Sardines (with the bones)
• Tofu
• Yogurt

1. Vitamin D₃

It is very important for absorption of calcium. You would say that we all know. But you might be unaware of the fact that vitamin D is hardly available in our food. The sources of vitamin D are very few in number.

Sunlight is the best option for getting enough vitamin D. But when to expose the body to sunlight? Confusion would always arise when to expose to sunlight at day time or at night? 

Fair people should get around 6 minutes a day (during summer) or up to 40 minutes a day (during winter) of sun, avoiding peak UV times 

Dark-skinned people should aim for up to 42 minutes during summer and up to four hours during winter. People who cannot get adequate sun exposure should consider vitamin D supplements

1. Vitamin B₁₂

Now you would think how vitamin B12 is important for bone health? Let me tell you vitamin B12 is very much required for bone forming cells. This bone forming cells growth and proliferation has been increased in presence of this water soluble Vitamin B12. (A study of Carmel et al)

1. Magnesium

We know that magnesium is necessary for bone health but it has a much broader scope than even I imagined. Most people think that calcium is the most important factor in bone health. Some are now realizing that vitamin D is also a necessary component. However, it’s not well known that magnesium is necessary to convert vitamin D into its active form so that it can turn on calcium absorption.

It turns out that all the enzymes metabolizing vitamin D require magnesium as a necessary co-factor. When you take high doses of Vitamin D and if you are already low in magnesium, the increased amount of metabolic work drains magnesium from its muscle storage sites. That’s probably why muscles are the first to suffer magnesium deficiency symptoms — twitching, leg cramps restless legs and Charlie horses. Angina and even heart attacks affecting the heart muscle are all magnesium deficiency symptoms.

1. Omega-3S

If you needed yet another reason for getting enough omega-3s into your diet, you can now add improved bone health to your list.

According to this latest study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, the omega-3 fat DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) “appears to be a vital constituent of marrow and enhances bone mineral content.” 

The body is always undergoing a constant process of making new bone matter and removing old bone matter. However, during early childhood and adolescence, the body produces new bone matter at a much faster rate than it removes old bone matter, leading to our bones becoming denser during this time period. 

By about age 30, our bones reach their peak density. This is important because the amount of bone mass you have in your early 30s helps determine your risk of developing osteoporosis later in life.  

During these formative years, it has been demonstrated that Omega-3 is positively associated with increased bone mineral density, meaning that people with higher concentrations of Omega-3 fatty acids in their blood build stronger bones during the body’s peak years for bone density formation, setting the stage for better bone health later on in life.

1. Zinc

When you’re looking to increase your bone density, chances are you’ve been focusing a lot on your calcium intake, among other things. That’s important, of course, but there’s a little-known mineral that is rarely related to bone health.

I’m referring to zinc, which plays a very important role in promoting bone density and boosting immunity. And I can’t wait to share this information with you, because you’ll probably never hear it from your doctor.

Zinc deficiency can cause stunted growth in children, because it is so vital for cellular division and activation. This same ability to influence and regulate cellular function applies to zinc intake in adults, including those with low bone density.

Zinc is also crucial for Vitamin D to get into cells where it can work to build bone. In addition, zinc is actually found in the hydroxyapatite mineral crystals, which make up about half of your bones’ weight.

1. Potassium

One study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has shown positive associations between potassium and bone mineral density. Their findings suggest that potassium is important for women who are approaching, or have gone through, menopause and concerned about bone demineralization. The researchers concluded that potassium bicarbonate helped reduce bone resorption and increase the rate of bone formation.

In 2009 Osteoporosis International published a study which examined the effect of high potassium consumption within 266 elderly postmenopausal women aged 70-80 years. They found positive association between bone mineral density and dietary potassium intake.

Eating foods rich in potassium may play a part in the prevention of osteoporosis and bone demineralization.