Are you bad to your bones? There is a growing trend in the United States and Canada: calcium and vitamin D deficiency. Bone mass reaches its peak around age thirty so calcium and vitamin D are critical in helping you to prevent breaks or fractures down the road. As important as strong muscles are to your overall health, bones are what hold us together. Otherwise we’d just be a puddle on the ground. I’m hoping I can shed some light on all the benefits that calcium and vitamin D have to offer.

What is vitamin D and why do I need it?

Vitamin D is key in helping to produce strong bones. It also helps absorb calcium from the intestines so that is why you find so many products with the two in combo.  The current recommendation depends on age, but for a woman age 18-30 you are looking at around 600 internal units (IUs) per day.  Our bodies naturally convert vitamin D into a usable form from midday sun (between 10 am and 2 pm).  People like me who live in northern parts of the world and get to see old man winter usually do not get enough midday sun to make our own vitamin D.

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I will never forget the day I saw an elderly woman fall on the sidewalk in front of me. She fractured her wrist and I saw where the bone had punctured the skin. I vowed, then and there, to always, always take care of my bones. I take my calcium every day, along with Vitamin D and Magnesium. In addition to those  supplements, though, bones need weight bearing exercise in order to stay strong.

“The exercise must place a load on the bone that’s heavy enough and different enough to stimulate a bone response,” says Robyn Stuhr, American Council on Exercise spokesperson and clinical exercise physiologist. Osteoporosis, or weakening of the bones, most commonly afflicts elderly women, but 20 percent of diagnosed cases are in males and osteoporosis occurs in people in every age. The most commonly affected bones are the spine, hip and wrist and thankfully, those are areas that can easily be strengthened.

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It’s important for everyone to get enough calcium, but women are especially at risk for calcium deficiency, which can lead to osteoporosis and decrease bone health later in life. Even though there is calcium in many of our favorite foods, it can still be difficult to meet the recommended daily allowance for the important mineral.

Dairy products provide calcium, but people with dairy allergies, lactose intolerance and vegans need to look to other food sources to fill their calcium needs.  Foods high in calcium include: almonds, broccoli, spinach, cooked kale, canned salmon with the bones, sardines and tofu.

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Attention all Diet Coke and Diet Dr. Pepper lovers: Soda has been linked to osteoporosis, a condition that is marked by bone loss and puts you at risk for fractures, splints and breaks.

We all know by now that the sugar in soda is linked to a host of health conditions, from obesity to dental cavities. Now soda is earning demerits for its association with degrading the skeletal system.

The problem though is not with all sodas, but with the colas. So drinks like Sprite, 7-Up and Mountain Dew don’t appear to have the same bone-weakening effect as dark sodas do.

Researchers at Tufts University found that women who regularly drank cola-based sodas (three or more a day) had almost four percent lower bone mineral density in the hip, even when calcium and vitamin D intake were accounted for.

So what exactly is in dark sodas that is putting your bones at risk?

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Joint Juice recently launched a Joint Health Assessment tool on their website, a simple form for users to fill out and receiving a rating of their joint health. But what is Joint Juice? Joint Juice and Joint Juice Performance Water are liquid dietary supplements containing glucosamine, a natural compound found in healthy cartilage.

According to the Mayo Clinic, studies have indicated that glucosamine is beneficial in treating arthritis, particularly for the knee joints. Depending on the formula and flavor, Joint Juice beverages may also contain B vitamins, electrolytes and vitamin C.
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