Elgin Back Pain Sufferers May Benefit from Fiber to Improve Nutrient Absorption
“Youth is wasted on the young.” Have you heard that saying? Connected Chiropractic supposes that there is a bit of truth in that for all of us - and especially our Elgin spines - as we age. When we’re young, our bodies need8 our attention more than we gave. Our young bones and spines and bodies require good nutrition so that our older bones and spine and bodies are healthy when we want to live our lives less painfully and more fully. Connected Chiropractic reveals what Elgin chiropractic patients can do now to address bone mineral density (BMD) issues, no matter their current age.
BMD AND OSTEOPOROSIS: BUILD BMD WHILE YOUNG
Elevating peak bone mass early in life may decrease osteoporosis risk later in life. A recent study wrote that Vitamin D and calcium in females positively affected bone mineral density into young adulthood. Intakes of phosphorous and the calcium:phosphorous ratio at adolescence for females negatively influenced BMD in young adulthood. Calcium intake in adolescent males strongly negatively affected BMD in the lumbar spine at young adulthood. Other leading factors were body weight at adolescence and young adulthood which positively affected BMD. (1) Connected Chiropractic cannot stress enough just how vital nutrition is for their future well-being.
BENEFITS OF IMPROVED NUTRITION BEYOND BETTER BONE MINERAL DENSITY
Osteoporosis is a disease of older people that results from youthful (in)attention. Low serum levels of vitamin D in osteoporotic women tend to have an heightened chance of having any type of cancer and breast cancer. (2) Calcium intake during the teen years of life is important to decrease the risk of osteoporosis later in life. Teen girls absorb calcium better: 326mg in teenage girls versus just 73mg in older women of 1332 mg taken daily. Even more problematic is that teen girls’ daily intake of calcium is far lower than what it should be. Increasing bone mass by only 5% cuts the risk of fracture by 40%. (3) Attaining healthy bones is subject to more than just calcium and vitamin D though. Deficiencies of vitamins B, C, E, and K as well as retinol compromise bone’s health. (4) Connected Chiropractic presents these stats to inspire us all to boost intake of nutrients to build bone mass early and support it later to keep it healthy.
IMPROVE ABSORPTION OF NUTRIENTS
Connected Chiropractic knows that kids and their families want to be sure that their nutritional efforts will be of value. TIP: Dietary fiber may increase the body’s absorption of calcium but does it differently for older men and women. Greater intake of dietary fiber and fruit fiber was protective against bone loss in men but not women. Fiber from vegetables was protective against spine bone loss in women but not men. Cereal fiber or nut and legume fiber improvements didn’t relate to bone loss in either men or women. Higher dietary fiber may decrease bone loss in men. (5) Who would have imagined that fiber would have anything to do with bone mineral density? Connected Chiropractic thinks that many of our Elgin chiropractic patients would not have!
FIBER’S DEFENSE OF MEN’S BMD
Fortunately, there are some very observant researchers and doctors out there! They discovered that fiber intake was a protective factor of lumbar spine BMD in men 18-45 years of age but not in females. In men over 65 years, nutrient intake showed no effect on BMD. In women between 18 and 45, fiber did not produce a significant change to BMD, but daily fat intake significantly increased BMD. (6) A curious side note: A new study discredits the thought that BMD may be a risk factor for lumbar disc herniation in youth, but a recent study debunked that thought. (7) However, medical literature points out that the general value of nutrition - and now fiber intake in men - on the health of the body, its bones and its spine.
CONTACT Connected Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Nike Taylor on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as she helps a patients with chronic low back pain with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
Schedule your next Elgin chiropractic appointment with Connected Chiropractic where your spine, body and its bones are well understood in their current age whether they were treated well in their youth or not!
