Why Should We Care About Our Bones?

In grade school they made us learn the bones of the body, but they never really told us what was so special about them and how important they were to our body.




There are 206 bones in your body!

Below are the reasons why the bones are important.

Support

One of the functions of the bones is to provide us with support. They are the strongest structure. We would just be a blob of tissue if we didn't have any bones in our body.

Function

The bones protect our vital organs from being harmed. The SKULL and the VERTEBRAE are the most important because they protect the central nervous system, which is very crucial for the rest of our body. The RIBS are also a big deal because they protect the heart and lungs.

Movement

The skeletal system works closely with the muscles through our body. Sometimes people refer to them as the musculoskeletal system. Not all the muscles are attached to bones because we have muscles in our digestive and cardiovascular system that help these systems function. Bones give the muscles something to attach to in order to contract and cause motion.

Blood Cells

The bones also are important as a center for the production of blood cells. Bone marrow is where the red blood cells are made and also where white blood cells (needed for the immune system), adipocytes (fat cells), and fibroblasts (needed to make connective tissue).

Calcium 

Bones help regulate calcium levels. Calcium levels in the blood make sure that the nerves and muscles are working properly. Bone tissue can be broken down to increase the blood's supply when the body needs more calcium. If there is excess calcium it is stored in bone tissue for later. 

Cloe, Adam. (2015 Jun 23). Why are bones important to the body? Retrieved from                     http://www.livestrong.com/article/80192-bones-important-body/

Leaving the Bones in the Water

Growing up one of my favorite things to do in the summer was going swimming. My birthday is in June and I loved having swim parties! Day or night I loved being in the pool.

When you think of swimming as a sport what comes to mind? I think workout, muscles, and being very in shape.  Of course, all those things are good. Swimming is good for those that want to lose fat and build muscle and also want to be in shape.

One thing that swimming does not do is help make your bones stronger. Yes, there are many benefits to swimming but it won't help with your bone strength.

The reason? Swimming is not a weight-bearing exercise, which is classified as an activity that you do on your feet.

Studies have shown that elite swimmers have lower bone density than those that don't even exercise. 

THAT'S CRAZY

Swimming will help with balance and coordination which when you get older you struggle with a lot. A person that is not able to do a lot of weight-bearing exercises due to personal reason like arthiritis or they just don't have the ability to hold themselves up then swimming is a really great way for them to get some sort of exercise.

Swimming is not a bad thing at all, but it is also important to do exercises outside of the pool so you are able to have strong bones.

It is important to remember that swimming is very beneficial to your health, but if you are trying to make your bones stronger and decrease your chances from them becoming brittle then you should probably do some other activities such as playing sports, lifting weights, going for a walk or a run or anything else that includes you being on your feet.





Sheehan Jan. (2015). The effect of swimming on bone strength. Retrieved                                       from http://www.livestrong.com/article/443091-the-effect-of-swimming-on-bone-strength/

Osteoporosis in Women

Osteoporosis is a disease that affects your bones and they become really fragile.  This disease can affect anybody, but it mostly occurs in females than males. This disease varies between ethnic groups and ages.  The ones that are at the highest risk of developing this diseases are Caucasians and older women and people that are lactose intolerant because it is hard for them to get the calcium they need. The good news is that there are ways to prevent this disease from affecting you.

Caucasian women that are 50 and older have a 20% chance of developing the disease.  Most women have low bone mass, but they have not been diagnosed with osteoporosis yet.  Another interesting fact is that as you age you will lose about 1/3 of the bone density in your hip.

In African Americans, there is only a 5% chance of developing osteoporosis.  There is about 35% that have low bone mass, but they have not been diagnosed with the disease.  An interesting fact is that many African Americans do not get enough vitamin D and that makes it difficult for the body absorb calcium.

Estrogen levels drop during menopause and that can lead to bone loss. If you have greater bone density before you reach menopause then the less likely you develop osteoporosis.  After menopause, a person can lose 20% of her bone density.  There is a type of medication that is estrogen to help with menopause and that can lower your chances of losing bone density, but it has serious side effects that make you not want to take the medication.

Breastfeeding and pregnancy could possibly lower a person's bone mass, but this is can just be temporary. It has been shown that the bones will recover over time. It is important to make sure that you get enough calcium and vitamin D while they are breastfeeding and while they are pregnant.

What YOU CAN DO NOW to try and prevent this disease from happening to you is:

Eating a well-balanced diet

get enough vitamin D and calcium

Exercise

No smoking or drinking

Reference

National Osteoporosis Foundation. 2016. National osteoporosis foundation.  Retrieved from                      https://www.nof.org/prevention/general-facts/what-women-need-to-know/

Introduction

Hey guys, my name is Gabby and my topic is bone health. I chose this topic because I enjoy learning about the bones. I feel like bone health is important, but it's usually not the first topic that comes to mind when you think of health. When I was always a little kid I heard that you should drink milk so you have strong bones when you get older, but now that I am older I never hear people talk about bone health.  I'm looking forward to finding information and sharing it with you all.