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How to Improve Bone Density During Menopause

Joanne Fazel • Jun 10, 2022

How To Improve Bone Density During Menopause Through Movement & Nutrition 


How do we make sure that we are looking after our bone health, during and after the menopause and why is it important?

When we go through perimenopause, the time leading up to menopause, there are lots of symptoms that we experience that are really obvious: we all know if we're having a hot flush; we can see if we're putting on weight because our clothes might not fit anymore; we know if we're forgetting things - not only will we know, but other people will probably tell us. 

But your bone health is something that's not so obvious. It's internal. We can't see it. We kind of assume that everything's okay. And we only really know that it's not, when something happens. 

Bones have a peak density, they're at their strongest around about age 30. After that, there is a gradual decline in the density of your bones. So, we are not talking about this happening when you are what we would consider to be elderly. We are talking about still being in your prime of life and it's already starting to decline and that decline rapidly accelerates after we reach menopause, so that by around five to seven years post menopause, you may have lost up to 20% of your bone density. So up to a fifth of that strength in the bone could be lost by that point. 

Now, why is that important?

Obviously, our bones are keeping us mobile and strong and upright. And when it decreases to a certain extent, we can develop what's known as osteoporosis.

It's really important that we try and do something about it because our risk of fractures greatly increases, and not just from breaking a bone because you fall down the stairs, which could happen to anybody at any age. But fractures resulting from something very minor, like sitting down a bit too hard, coughing or sneezing causing a broken bone.

It can lead to the bones in your spine partially collapsing, causing you pain and to be stooped over. You might start struggling to be able to pull yourself out of your chair and experience muscle and joint pain.

So, you can see this is something that, is really important in terms of how you're going to be able to live your life - how you're going to feel and what you're going to be able to do. 

Risk of osteoporosis can be increased by quite a few things and menopause is one of them. The loss of oestrogen accelerates the process.

If you've had an early menopause, that is if you have reached menopause before the age of 45, that will increase your risk even further, because you haven't had the oestrogen benefit for as long, perhaps as many other women may.

Age and family history can increase your risk, as can heavy drinking or smoking. If you have, or have had in the past, an eating disorder, that can also increase your risk, as can having had chemotherapy treatment. But one of the really big things that can increase your risk and that we totally have control over, is lack of exercise.

Exercise for Bone Health

Exercise is not just about your cardiovascular health. It's not just about keeping your heart healthy or keeping your weight down. It's also about keeping your bones strong and healthy. Your bones are living tissue and they contain cells which do two different things. Osteoclasts have the job of getting rid of the old and deteriorating bone, and Osteoblasts, which form the new bone. We want these to be working effectively and going through the correct cycle of renewal of your bone.

In order for the bone renewal to work, osteoclasts and osteoblasts need to be stimulated and they're stimulated by impact and resistance. This is why it's really important to have strength and resistance work incorporated into your exercise plan.

So, it's important to not just do cardiovascular or aerobic activity but to also do activity that will also stimulate your bone renewal. 

You don't have to belong to a gym to do this. Many people who do go to the gym still tend to stick to the treadmill or, the cross trainer and may be intimidated by using the weights floor as it tends to be quite a male-dominated environment. If you enjoy using the weights at the gym that great but if not, you can do this kind of work anywhere. At home, you can have your own equipment or, you can adapt to activities that you enjoy outside or that you do with friends. It's possible to do this kind of work, however you like to exercise.

So, let's talk about the kind of equipment maybe that you might like to use and the types of exercise that will help you. First of all, let's talk about using actual weights. The obvious first choice is dumbbells. They come in many different types and weight increments and they don't have to be large and bulky.

Kettlebells are bigger and you might need a little more room to store. Again, they come in different weight sizes and are also good for doing certain moves like swings where it's easier to hold one big weight rather than two dumbbells. 

Weighted gloves are another good option because you can wear them to add some weight and resistance when you're doing another workout like boxing. You can also get wrist or ankle weights which are great to pair with any activity you are doing, such as going for a walk or even just wearing around the house to add just a little bit of extra strength & resistance.

If you don't have the space to store any equipment or you aren't sure about investing the money in anything yet then you can also do body weight exercises. This is basically where you are using the weight of your own body as a resistance to the moves that you're doing. Moves like squats, lunges and holding a plank are all really good examples of where you are actually having to hold yourself up in a particular position which will stimulate those bone cells.

If you want to make the moves more intense you can add smaller pieces of equipment such as sliders. These are flat circles of plastic which glide over carpet or hard floor and you can put your feet or hands on them and slide them backwards and forwards or out to the side and back in whilst holding your position, for example in a plank. This increases the intensity and makes your body need to work harder.

If you aren't keen on these kinds of bodyweight moves then activities such as walking, jogging, racket,sports, like tennis and yoga are all good too.

Then there is specific strength work using resistance bands. They come in different types such as latex, fabric, open and closed loop. Open ones are good if you like to work out in the park as you can wrap them around a tree or bench and are helpful for upper body. Closed loop is better if you are using around your legs in moves such as lunges and squats. I find that the fabric closed loop bands are better as the latex ones tend to bunch up and can start to dig into your skin. The bands also come in different strengths, usually ranging from light to extra heavy, which refers to how difficult it is to stretch them.

You can find all of these pieces of strength & resistance equipment easily in places such as Amazon or Decathlon or even check out eBay or other preloved sites to find a bargain.

The great thing about strength & resistance work is that you can do it anywhere - at home, the gym, the park etc. You can find classes that do them, create your own workout routines or follow YouTube videos. 

A couple of things are really important to note:

Firstly, you need to make sure you mix it up. Your body needs variety and your bones will get used to the same routine. 

So maybe don't always use dumbbells. Maybe sometimes use bands or do body weight exercise and make sure to adapt the intensity. When you use weights, like dumbbells, your body else is going to start to get used to that weight as it becomes stronger. You need to listen to your body and really see what it needs to be challenged.

If you are using something too light it won't be challenging you or changing you. Equally though, if you go too heavy you won't be able to complete the exercise. You might find that even in the space of one particular routine, that you need more than one weight. Bigger muscles such as the muscles in your legs can power heavier weights but you might need lighter weights for upper body exercises.

If you start to feel that you've been doing something for a while and actually it's starting to feel a bit easy, you need to increase the weight or you need to increase the reps. 

Ideally, look to do some kind of strength or resistance work at least twice a week to keep your bones strong and healthy.

Secondly,  if you haven't done much strength & resistance work before, be very careful. Go slowly and start small. It's a good idea to get professional advice to make sure you are carrying out the exercises correctly also. If you belong to the gym, make sure you go to the gym induction or ask an instructor how to use the machines correctly. If you go to a class, make sure that the instructor shows you the correct positioning and if you using an online platform at home, look for any instructional videos on there. 

Nutrition for Bone Health

Now we've all heard of calcium. When we think about bone health, that's the first thing most people think about.

Yes, you may consume lots of calcium-rich foods such as diary which is great because we do need calcium. But in order for the calcium to work and to do its job, it actually needs to have some other nutrients as well, that aids it in doing its job. If we don't have those nutrients too, there's no point having lots of calcium because it's not going to be able to work as it's meant to.

One of those critical nutrients is vitamin D and obviously if you live in the UK or in Northern Europe, you are unlikely to be getting enough from the sun alone. It's also very difficult to get enough through foods because not that many foods contain Vitamin D, so we do have to be mindful of the kind of foods that we're eating so that we can maximize our intake.

We also need magnesium. This also helps calcium do its job and converts vitamin D into the form that's needed for working with calcium. It's involved in the actual formation of the osteoblast and osteoclast cells in your bone too.

You also need enough vitamin C which is not stored in the body. Some, vitamins and minerals can be stored, kind of like have a backup. But vitamin C has to be consumed on a daily basis. Vitamin K is also involved in the process of healthy bone formation. 

If you want to make sure that you're getting enough of these, the first thing I would recommend is to eat plenty of leafy green vegetables because they are high in so many of these nutrients. Broccoli is actually very high in calcium, in fact, so if you don't eat dairy that's a really good place to get it from, but other leafy greens as well, such as cabbage, spinach and kale are good too.

Eating other types of fruit and veg is also very important to get enough vitamin C, and oily fish, especially sardines are good for calcium because they have very small, soft edible bones. 

Make sure that you're having enough lean protein and also whole grains, which are a great source of magnesium, as well and seeds and nuts. 

Are you getting the nutrients or exercise that you actually need to help support bone renewal?

Maybe you are doing the exercise, but what you are eating isn't supporting bone health. Or you eat a healthy diet, but you're not doing any strength and resistance exercise. You won't be maximizing your chances of keeping your bones healthy as you age.

It's important to note that the average age of menopause is 51. That isn't old, it's still prime of life. It's really only halfway through your life. If we are lucky, we might live another 40 or 50 years post-menopause and we need to be in a physical position where we can enjoy those 40 or 50 years and do the things that we want to do. We don't want to be in pain or incapacitated. 

This is why we need to start now because as I said, we can't see our bone density declining until something happens. We can instead use strength & resistance exercise and the correct nutrition to help prevent our bones getting to the stage of osteoporosis.

If you want to start making changes to your nutrition & movement levels to help support your bone health, I’d love to chat to you. My 12-week 1:1 personalised menopause wellness coaching program will help you to identify, implement & stay consistent with the habits you need to experience a happier, healthier menopause. Book your FREE VIP menopause empowerment call with me here to find out whether this program might be right for you and how I can help to move you forwards.


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