West Des Moines Back Pain Sufferers May Benefit from Fiber to Improve Nutrient Absorption
“Youth is wasted on the young.” Have you heard that saying? Executive Chiropractic of Iowa supposes that there’s a little truth in that for all of us - and particularly our West Des Moines spines - as we age. When we’re young, our bodies require 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 fit when we want to live our lives less painfully and more fully. Executive Chiropractic of Iowa shares what West Des Moines chiropractic patients can do now to deal with bone mineral density (BMD) issues, no matter their current age.
BMD AND OSTEOPOROSIS: BUILD BMD WHILE YOUNG
Optimizing peak bone mass early in life may reduce osteoporosis risk later in life. A new report 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) Executive Chiropractic of Iowa can’t emphasize 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 stems from youthful (in)attention. Low serum levels of vitamin D in osteoporotic women tend to have an heightened chance of having any kind of cancer and breast cancer. (2) Calcium intake during the teen years of life is important 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 consumption of calcium is far below what it should be. Enhancing bone mass by only 5% cuts the risk of fracture by 40%. (3) Achieving healthy bones is subject to more than just calcium and vitamin D however. Deficiencies of vitamins B, C, E, and K as well as retinol compromise the health of bone. (4) Executive Chiropractic of Iowa presents these stats 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
Executive Chiropractic of Iowa understands 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 associate with bone loss in either men or women. Higher dietary fiber may decrease bone loss in men. (5) Who would have thought that fiber would have anything to do with bone mineral density? Executive Chiropractic of Iowa supposes that many of our West Des Moines chiropractic patients wouldn’t 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 women. In men over 65 years, nutrient intake showed no effect on BMD. In women between 18 and 45, fiber didn’t produce a significant change to BMD, but daily fat intake significantly enhanced BMD. (6) An interesting side note: It had been thought that bone mineral density may be a risk factor for lumbar disc herniation in young persons, but a recent study debunked that thought. (7) However, medical literature points out that the general benefit of nutrition - and now fiber intake in men - on the well-being of the body, its bones and its spine.
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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 West Des Moines chiropractic appointment with Executive Chiropractic of Iowa where your spine, body and its bones are well understood in their current age whether they were treated well in their youth or not!
