Can We Slow Bone Aging? What Research Reveals About Diet, Exercise, And Lifestyle

Time stops for no one, but it doesn’t affect everyone the same way. Scientists have long sought to understand why aging affects people differently– and why different systems within the same person’s body can age at different rates.

Fortunately for Savers, research has begun to provide answers that can help us maintain strong, healthy bones as we get older. In this article, we’ll examine studies that have identified how diet, exercise, and daily habits can help prevent age-related bone loss.

Aging And Bone Health

An article in the Journal of Dental Research proposed that osteoporosis is not a consequence of aging, but rather a condition that becomes more prevalent among older individuals.¹

The authors of the report provided several reasons for this conclusion. First, not all adults over the age of 85 years show signs of skeletal fragility or experience fractures. If osteoporosis were an inevitable consequence of aging, then everyone would eventually develop it, simply because everyone ages.¹

Second, they noted that although certain genes are associated with bone loss, their presence or absence does not necessarily determine whether someone will develop osteoporosis. This means that your genetics don’t dictate whether or not you experience bone loss. Even though your genes may increase your risk level, they don’t determine the fate of your bones.¹

Their final argument was that osteoporosis can also occur in very young people. If it were a disease that occurs because of aging, then only older adults would experience it.¹

Taken together, these findings challenge the idea that osteoporosis is an unavoidable consequence of aging. Osteoporosis may be more likely as you age, but it does not inevitably occur. You can take steps to preserve the health of your bones, even as you get older.

Synopsis

An article in the Journal of Dental Research made the case that osteoporosis is not a disease of aging, but rather one with greater prevalence among older people. The evidence is threefold: not all older adults develop osteoporosis, genetics do not determine with certainty who will develop it, and osteoporosis can occur in young people under certain conditions. These findings show that although osteoporosis becomes more common with age, we can take steps to reduce our risk.

Diet And Bone Health

A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine analyzed data from 93,676 women aged 50 to 79 who participated in research conducted at 40 clinical centers across the United States. ²

Participants’ diets were evaluated using several healthy-eating measures, including adherence to the Mediterranean diet, which emphasises vegetables, fruits, fish, healthy fats, and whole grains. Over a median follow-up period of 15.9 years, researchers examined the relationship between participants’ dietary scores and the incidence of hip and other fractures. ²

They found that higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with a lower risk for hip fractures and concluded that healthy dietary patterns may play a role in maintaining bone health in postmenopausal women.²

A study published in the Journal of Bone Mineral Research the same year measured the impact of potassium bicarbonate supplementation on calcium excretion and markers of bone turnover. Potassium bicarbonate is an alkalizing compound. The researchers investigated whether an alkalizing supplement could counteract the adverse effects of dietary acid load on bone and muscle metabolism. ³

The double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study included 244 men and women aged 50 and older who were assigned to three groups: a placebo group, a group receiving 1 mmol/kg of potassium bicarbonate daily, and a group receiving 1.5 mmol/kg. ³

The alkalizing supplement reduced calcium excretion and bone turnover markers, suggesting potential beneficial effects on bone metabolism.³

These findings complement the research on Mediterranean-style eating patterns. with the first study’s results. Rich in fruits and vegetables, the Mediterranean diet typically has a lower dietary acid load than diets dominated by animal proteins and refined grains. A diet rich in acidifying foods may increase the body’s acid load, while alkalizing foods help support the body’s natural acid-base balance and can benefit calcium metabolism and bone health.

Eating a pH-balanced, Mediterranean-style diet can support bone health and help prevent age-related bone loss.

Synopsis

Two studies investigated dietary approaches that can help prevent bone loss. One linked eating a Mediterranean diet to reduced hip fractures, and the other found that an alkalizing potassium bicarbonate supplement corrected mild metabolic acidosis and benefited bone health. Together, these studies highlight the benefits of a nutrient-rich, Mediterranean-style diet and provide insights into the relationship between dietary acid load and bone metabolism.

Resistance Training Helps Your Body Resist Bone Loss

A study published in the Journal of Bone Mineral Research randomly assigned 101 postmenopausal women into two exercise groups: an eight-month, twice-weekly 30-minute supervised high-intensity resistance and impact training (HiRIT) group, or a home-based, low-intensity exercise program group.⁴

The researchers measured participants’ lumbar spine and proximal femur BMD and their functional performance before and after the interventions.⁴

They found that the HiRIT program produced greater improvements of lumbar spine BMD, femoral neck cortical thickness, height, and all measures of functional performance than the low-intensity exercise program. Furthermore, the researchers found the supervised high-intensity program was well tolerated by the postmenopausal women with low bone mass who participated in the study.⁴

The researchers contend that “optimal osteogenic mechanical loading requires the application of high-magnitude strains at high rates.”⁴ Osteogenic mechanical loading refers to the forces placed on bones through muscle contractions (mechanical loading) and weight-bearing activities that can stimulate new bone formation, a process known as osteogenesis.

Resistance training challenges muscles to work against external resistance, generating mechanical forces that can stimulate bone adaptation and growth.. This approach applies Wolff’s Law, which states that bone adapts to the mechanical demands placed upon it, by progressively increasing the forces that stimulate bone remodeling.

You can use resistance training to activate Wolff’s Law and build stronger bones, even as you age.

Synopsis

A study of high-intensity resistance and impact training found that it was more effective than a low-intensity exercise program at improving lumbar spine bone mineral density and functional performance in postmenopausal women. Age-related bone loss can be prevented and counteracted with appropriately designed exercise strategies like resistance training.

Get A Full Night’s Sleep For Stronger Bones

A study published in the Journal of Bone Mineral Research examined the relationship between sleep habits and bone mineral density in 11,084 postmenopausal women.⁵

Researchers examined associations between self-reported sleep duration and quality and bone mineral density at four sites: the whole-body, total hip, femoral neck, and spine.

Compared to women who reported sleeping seven hours each night, those who slept five or fewer had significantly lower BMD at all four sites, greater odds of low bone mass and osteoporosis at the hip, and greater odds of osteoporosis at the spine.⁵

The study authors noted that the mechanisms of action linking sleep duration to BMD are not fully understood, although t inadequate sleep may negatively affect hormonal regulation, inflammation, and metabolism..⁵

Sleep is a lifestyle factor that impacts your bone health. Developing healthy sleep habits to help you fall asleep more easily, sleep soundly, and get adequate rest may support your body’s ability to maintain strong bones.

Synopsis

A study found that postmenopausal women who slept five hours or fewer per night had significantly lower bone mineral density and greater odds of osteoporosis than women who reported sleeping seven hours per night. Improving sleep quality and duration may be another valuable strategy for supporting bone health as you age.

What This Means To You

You can make informed choices about diet, exercise, and daily habits, including sleep, to help protect your bones from the effects of aging. The Save Institute has spent years assembling resources to help you do just that.

To make following a pH-balanced, Mediterranean-style diet easy and delicious, we created Bone Appétit, our bone-healthy cookbook and meal planner. It features more than 200 pH-balanced recipes that are sure to become favorites, along with a meal planner that takes the guesswork out of grocery shopping.

To help Savers build exercise routines tailored to their needs and fitness levels, we created SaveTrainer, an on-demand video workout platform. SaveTrainer offers a wide variety of workouts, including resistance training, so you can get a personalized exercise routine designed to maximize safety and results.

The Osteoporosis Reversal Program explains the science behind the bone-building benefits of diet and exercise, but it goes even further. Lifestyle factors such as sleep duration and quality– often overlooked in discussions about osteoporosis– are also important pieces of the bone-health puzzle. The Osteoporosis Reversal Program explains the habits that support stronger bones and helps you incorporate them into your routine. Start with one manageable change, then gradually build on the progress. Before you know it, you’ll have transformed your daily habits and taken meaningful steps to rejuvenate your bones.

References

¹ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2991386/#section10-0022034510377791

² https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2504188

³ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4817273/#abstract1

⁴ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28975661/

⁵ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8223077/