In general, bone density decreases after menopause in women and after retirement in men. You may think that it is unavoidable as you get older, but you can prevent it to some extent by devising your lifestyle.
Thanks to my 10 years of “muscle training”, my orthopedic surgeon says “bone density is high”.
Medically, there are osteoclasts (cells that destroy old bones) and osteoblasts (cells that make new bones) in bone that are replaced with new bone in a few months, and if you do muscle training, It promotes bone formation and strengthens the bones.
Why muscle training makes your bones stronger
Bending and stretching of joints that any healthy person can do. This is due to muscle contraction.
The muscles are attached to the bones, and when the muscles contract, they pull the bones attached to the ends to move the joints.
If your bones are weak and your muscles are strong, you will destroy your bones with your own strength. For this reason, if you strengthen your muscles with “muscle training”, your bones will also become stronger in proportion to this.
Medical support “Wolff’s Law”
There is a law advocated by the German anatomist Julius Wolff (1836-1902) that “whether normal or abnormal, bone develops the most suitable structure to resist the forces applied to it.”
Simply put, “when a load is applied, the bones become stronger, but when no load is applied, the bones become weaker.”
When gravity or impact is applied to bone cells, it sends a signal to osteoblasts to make bone to resist the force and makes bone. At the same time, it is said that a small amount of electric current is transmitted to the bone and the strength increases.
On the other hand, if the load is not applied, the osteoblasts will be in a “rest” state, and only the osteoclasts will work, resulting in “osteoporosis”.
In this way, even from the “Wolff’s Law”, it is clear that strength training using weight machines and dumbbells is effective in strengthening muscles and bones at the same time.
Bone-building diet
No matter how much load is applied to the bone to promote bone formation, the bone will not become strong without “material”. It is necessary to keep in mind to take “calcium”, which is the main component of bones, firmly.
According to the nutrient labeling standard value (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries), the average daily amount required by Japanese people is 700 mg, which is abundant in foods such as milk, small fish, seaweed, soybeans and soybean products, and green and yellow vegetables. It is.
“Vitamin D” is indispensable for the absorption of calcium into the body. Vitamin D is produced in the body by eating “mushrooms” and “sunbathing”.
It also helps to take in the calcium absorbed by “vitamin K”, which is abundant in green and yellow vegetables such as natto, Japanese mustard spinach and spinach.
In addition, “magnesium” works on the osteoblasts that make bones and plays a role in regulating the amount of calcium that enters the bones.
Muscle training also prevents lifestyle-related diseases
It is important to note that there is data that elderly and obese people are at increased risk of compression fractures due to strain on the spine.
In addition to obesity, diabetes and saccharification by active oxygen also increase the risk of developing “osteoporosis”.
Muscle training not only prevents all lifestyle-related diseases, but also strengthens muscles and bones. Regardless of age, extend your healthy life expectancy with exercise habits that you can at your own pace.