bone density increase

jmzz1

Does anyone know how to increase the bone density?
I had been using treadmill for about an hour everyday for 1 year and now my knees are hurting a lot . My doctor advised me to increase my bone density through calcium tablet . I am a bit reluctant taking tablets so anybody knows how to increase it through diet and exercise?

Thanks for any help in advance

melodymedlin

If you don't want to take pills there is a calcium chew (bought mine from Wal-Mart; chocolate flavored and caramel). The taste great. Also you can add in more milk etc.. but its really hard to build bone density without supplements (it just takes soooo much). A couple of years ago I had this problem. I kept fracturing my foot, and then they ran the test. The chews helped a lot. Good luck!

Dragonwolf

Start lifting heavy, increase Vitamin D (ideally through sun exposure), and make sure you're getting enough sodium, potassium, and magnesium.

Weight lifting puts (good) stress on your body, and tells your body that it needs to build a stronger frame to support the load. This is a pretty huge factor, and has been shown to prevent things like osteoporosis.

Vitamin D is required to help absorb Calcium, among a ton of other things.

Sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium (along with a few others) are electrolytes, and have to maintain a certain balance. For example, if you don't have enough sodium (yes, it's possible), the kidneys will start dumping potassium to preserve what sodium is left in the body and to try to keep the balance. Likewise, when you're deficient in magnesium (as many Westerners are), it can lead to loss of bone density, largely through malabsorption of calcium (hence the high rates of osteoporosis in countries that have some of the highest calcium intakes -- it's not all about how much you consume, but how much you absorb).

On a side note -- your knee pain may not be due to bone density issues, but rather a) improper running technique, and/or b) wear and tear of the cartiledge in the knee. When you run, you should not do a heel strike, but rather a mid-foot strike. It's hard to explain in words, so you'll have to just Google for videos and whatnot, but below are a couple links to get you started. The wear and tear on your knee joint may be helped by glucosamine and condroitin. You can get these as a supplement, but the dietary way is through gelatin, ideally in its less processed state of foods like bone broth and marrow (or chicken feet, if you're so inclined -- those suckers are nature's glucosamine and condroitin supplements...though I'd rather drink the bone broth and use the chicken feet for dog treats).

You might also want to take a look at the foods you're eating and see if there's anything that might be causing inflammation. Gluten and dairy are the usual culprits (especially for Cysters), but be mindful of your Omega-6 intake, especially compared to Omega-3. It might be worth supplementing with fish oil (especially if you don't eat a lot of fatty fish), and/or swapping out any vegetable or nut oils for things like coconut oil, olive oil, and (biologically appropriately raised and fed) animal fats. Nightshades are also an issue for some people, so that might be worth looking into, too.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9927006
http://www.naturalnews.com/010528_bone_density_mineral.html

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/08/22/running-properly/
http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/education/barefoot_running_technique.htm