Richmond Back Pain Sufferers May Benefit from Fiber to Improve Nutrient Absorption
“Youth is wasted on the young.” Ever heard that? Johnson Chiropractic supposes that there’s a little truth in that for all of us - and especially our Richmond spines - as we age. When we’re young, our bodies require our attention more than we realize. Our youthful bones and spines and bodies require proper nutrition so that our older bones and spine and bodies are in good shape when we desire living our lives less painfully and more fully. Johnson Chiropractic reveals what Richmond chiropractic patients can do now to tackle bone mineral density (BMD) issues, regardless of 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 new 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 influenced BMD. (1) Johnson Chiropractic cannot stress enough just how vital nutrition is for their future health.
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 have a tendency to have an increased chance of having any type of cancer and breast cancer. (2) Calcium intake during the teen years of life is vital to reduce 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 way lower than what it should be. Enhancing bone mass by only 5% reduces the risk of fracture by 40%. (3) Getting healthy bones hinges on more than just calcium and vitamin D though. Deficiencies of vitamins B, C, E, and K as well as retinol disrupt bone’s health. (4) Johnson Chiropractic shares these statistics to encourage us all to increase intake of nutrients to build bone mass initially and support it later to keep it healthy.
IMPROVE ABSORPTION OF NUTRIENTS
Johnson Chiropractic knows that kids and their families want to be sure that their nutritional efforts will be of value. TIP: Dietary fiber may raise the body’s absorption of calcium but does it differently for older men and women. Higher 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 increases did not associate with bone loss in either men or women. Higher dietary fiber may reduce bone loss in men. (5) Who would have thought that fiber would have anything to do with bone mineral density? Johnson Chiropractic thinks that many of our Richmond chiropractic patients would not have!
FIBER’S DEFENSE OF MEN’S BMD
Luckily, some most observant doctors and researchers did notice that fiber intake was a protective factor of lumbar spine BMD in men 18-45 years of old but not in females. In men over 65 years, nutrient intake indicated no effect on BMD. In women between 18 and 45, fiber did not show a significant change to BMD, but daily fat intake significantly enhanced BMD. (6) A curious side note: A new study refutes the idea that BMD may be a risk factor for lumbar disc herniation in youth, but a new study debunked that idea. (7) However, there is evidence in the medical literature that stresses the general benefit of nutrition - and now fiber intake in men - on the well-being of the body, its bones and its spine.
CONTACT Johnson 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 Richmond chiropractic appointment with Johnson 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!
