Last weekend, I watched a neighbor in his 60s lugging gardening supplies, huffing and puffing...
He was unloading things like bags of potting soil, a ceramic pot, and a heavy-looking trellis from the back of his SUV.
I started walking over to help him with the biggest item, a bulky 40-pound sack of mulch. But before I could say anything, he bent into a squat, pulled the bag tightly against his chest, and carried it across the yard himself.
He was breathing hard by the time he reached the flower beds, face red from exertion and forearms trembling slightly.
I remember thinking to myself, "That has got to be one of the healthiest things he does for his skeleton all week." (And yes, I did end up going over to ask him if he wanted a hand.)
Challenging your body like this on a regular basis does incredible things for our skeletal health. And today, I'll explain just why sometimes what may feel like pushing your bones and muscles to the limit is the key to warding off a disease that epidemiologists are calling a global health crisis...
I'm talking about osteoporosis. May is National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month. But too many folks don't understand the dangers of the disease, who is at risk, or how to prevent it...
Osteoporosis weakens bones so that they become brittle... to the point of leaving them fragile and highly vulnerable to fractures from falls and even normal movements like bending or twisting at the waist.
Osteoporosis affects more than 200 million people worldwide and 44 million in the U.S. It's also the No. 2 global health problem (cardiovascular disease is No. 1, according to the World Health Organization).
Postmenopausal women have the highest risk, but men can develop osteoporosis, too. In fact, for men and women age 50 and older, roughly half of women and nearly a quarter of men will suffer a broken bone caused by osteoporosis. And if you're a 50-year-old woman, your lifetime risk of dying from a hip fracture is about the same as dying from breast cancer.
Understanding the enemy is the best way to counter it. And that includes understanding how your bones work...
Your Bones Aren't Just... There
Did you know that you get a nearly brand-new skeleton every 10 years?
You might think your bones are just static scaffolding structures that hold your body upright.
But that couldn't be further from the truth.
Bone is living, dynamic tissue, made up of a mix of crystals containing minerals like calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium, as well as protein (mainly collagen). Roughly 99% of the calcium in your whole body is right in – you guessed it – your bones and teeth.
The same minerals in your bones are needed for vital body functions from muscle contraction to firing nerve impulses. And your bones act as a storehouse for these minerals, which get released into the bloodstream as needed.
And at any given moment, two processes are happening at the same time in your bone:
- Osteoclasts, a type of bone cell, are breaking down old bones.
- And osteoblasts, another type of cell, are building new bones.
These recycling and repair processes make up part of the bone-remodeling cycle. There's also bone modeling, which is bone growth and shaping that mainly happens during childhood and sometimes during adulthood. It's estimated that every decade, most of the skeleton in an adult gets replaced, thanks to remodeling.
And that remodeling responds directly to a bit of stress placed on your bones...
When you carry in the groceries, climb the stairs, lift weights, or even stumble and catch yourself, they all impart mechanical forces that travel through your skeleton. Your bone cells sense those forces and respond with remodeling.
But when you're sedentary and sit for hours, avoid resistance exercise, and become less mobile with age, this reduced mechanical stress means less stimulation for the osteoblasts... and an increase in osteoclasts. Over time, bones become thinner and weaker.
It's one reason osteoporosis becomes common as we age, especially after menopause when a decrease in estrogen levels speeds up osteoclast activity.
Three Tips for Better Bones
So with regard to everything we discussed, here's what I recommend you do to keep your bones healthy.
1. Don't neglect resistance or strength-training exercises. Aim for 20- or 30-minute sessions for two to three days per week, with a day to rest in between. Try walking with a lightly weighted backpack. It's called rucking, and my publisher Matt Weinschenk swears by it for combing cardio and weight training into one exercise. Also, take advantage of spring before the summer heat kicks in and spend some time outdoors. Getting a bit of sun cranks up the vitamin-D factory in your body. Just be careful and don't overdo it on high UV-index days (check your local weather forecast).
If you're at retirement age, you especially shouldn't neglect resistance training... Published last April in Bone, a randomized-controlled trial followed 451 older adults for a year and found that heavy resistance training produced short-term improvements in levels of bone-formation markers compared with the groups that didn't do resistance training.
2. Sneak resistance moves into your day. Load and unload your groceries yourself. Try carrying them instead of using a cart. Got a couple of minutes to kill while waiting on the coffee maker, microwave, or printer? Get some squats in or find a wall and do some push-ups against it. And whenever you're taking the stairs someplace, pick up the pace a little to get your heart pumping.
3. Eat for your bones. That means foods rich in protein, calcium, and vitamin D. Don't forget, you need protein for your muscles and bones. Some examples include leafy greens, cottage cheese fortified with vitamin D, plain Greek yogurt, almonds, mushrooms, and egg yolks. Even your humble tin of sardines (or salmon) is an excellent source of protein, vitamin D, and calcium, especially since these canned varieties contain tiny bones that aren't noticeable when eaten.
Instead of a boring, old tuna salad, try a sardine rillette. It's a French dish where you just mash up a tin of sardines with a fork. And instead of stirring in cream cheese or butter, I like using my favorite extra-virgin olive oil or even a mashed avocado for a heart-healthy twist.
Finally, unless you're advised by your doctor, skip the stroll down the supplement aisle and save your money for groceries.
Calcium pills alone won't build strong bones. You need good nutrition, movement, resistance, protein, and healthy vitamin-D levels.
Follow my tips to slow bone loss and improve bone density and muscle strength to reduce your fracture risk.
One final thing... According to the last report from the National Osteoporosis Foundation, 2.1 million osteoporosis-caused fractures occurred in 2016. The group affected? Roughly 1.8 million seniors on Medicare.
Well, just last week, we published our most recent monthly issue of Retirement Millionaire, where we talked about how to make sure you can afford to stay healthy during retirement by not letting Medicare expenses drain your precious nest egg. Get a trial subscription here.
What We're Reading...
- Something different: Is this the world's best airport?
Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,
Dr. David Eifrig and the Health & Wealth Bulletin Research Team
May 19, 2026