7 Essential Nutrients That Elderly People Must Supplement For Strong Bones

As people age, their bones may not be as strong as before, so it is important to pay attention to early maintenance. Bones are like a "calcium warehouse", where 99% of the body's calcium is stored. However, building strong bones cannot rely solely on calcium supplementation. Below are the 7 nutrients that bones need the most.

benefits of cistanche tubulosa

1. Skeleton "support": Calcium

The human bones are "alive", and when calcium intake is insufficient, the calcium in the bones will be released into the bloodstream to maintain blood calcium concentration, leading to lower bone density, osteoporosis, and ultimately causing fractures, degenerative bone hyperplasia, or rickets in children.

Nutritional strategy: Experts point out that it is important to eat more calcium-rich foods when young to store sufficient calcium for bones. In general, eating more milk, soy products, seaweed, shrimp skin, etc. can meet the needs of normal people for calcium supplementation.

Adding some vinegar during cooking can help dissolve calcium and aid absorption. People who like to eat high-fat foods such as fatty meat and fried foods, as well as those who love salty foods, should pay special attention to calcium supplementation because oil and salt can inhibit calcium absorption.

2. Skeleton "gas station": Vitamin D

It can promote intestinal calcium absorption and reduce renal calcium excretion, just like a gas station, continuously replenishing calcium in the bones. If there is a lack of vitamin D, the hardness of bones will decrease, leading to the formation of "cartilage disease". Young children often have underdeveloped skull and chest bones, making them prone to rickets; Pregnant women and the elderly may experience a decrease in bone strength in their lower limbs, pelvis, and other areas.

Nutritional strategy: 90% of the body's vitamin D is synthesized through its skin by exposure to ultraviolet rays in sunlight; The remaining 10% is obtained through food intake, such as mushrooms, seafood, animal liver, egg yolks, and lean meat.

Experts point out that the safest, most effective, and most economical way to supplement vitamin D is to bask in the sun. American researchers suggest that when the weather is clear, do not apply sunscreen for two hours before and after noon every day, expose more than 40% of the skin, and bask in the sun for 5-15 minutes. For people who work in office buildings for a long time, exposing themselves to sunlight through glass cannot achieve a maintenance effect. It is best to engage in outdoor activities during holidays.

Cistanche deserticola efficacy

3. Skeleton "concrete": protein

22% of the components in bones are proteins, mainly collagen. With protein, human bones can be as hard as concrete, not brittle, resilient, and able to withstand external impacts. Amino acids and peptides in proteins are beneficial for calcium absorption.

If long-term protein intake is insufficient, it can easily lead to osteoporosis. A study has found that people who do not eat meat or soy products and have a long-term lack of protein are prone to hip fractures.

4. Skeleton Defender: Magnesium

60% -65% of magnesium in the human body is present in the bones. Experts say that magnesium plays an important role in the formation of new bone. Although the magnesium content in bones is low, once lacking, it can make bones brittle and more prone to breakage.

Long-term magnesium deficiency can also lead to vitamin D deficiency, affecting bone health. Women with low magnesium intake in their diet also have lower bone density.

Nutritional strategy: Seaweed, whole wheat foods, almonds, peanuts, and spinach are all rich in magnesium. Eating 5-8 peanuts 2-3 times a week can meet a person's magnesium needs; Drinking more water can also promote the absorption of magnesium.

Cistanche deserticola efficacy

5. Bone stabilizer: potassium

Every cell in the human body contains potassium, and bones are no exception. Its main function is to maintain acid-base balance, participate in energy metabolism, and normal functions of the neuromuscular system, which is essential for bone growth and metabolism. Recently, a study published in the American Journal of Environmental Nutrition also pointed out that potassium can prevent calcium loss and make bones stronger.

Nutritional strategy: To supplement potassium, eating more fruits such as bananas, oranges, plums, raisins, vegetables such as tomatoes, potatoes, spinach, yams, and seaweed such as seaweed and kelp are the safest and most effective methods. Especially orange juice, which contains abundant potassium and can replenish water and energy. It is best not to take potassium supplements lightly as they may be harmful to the heart.

6. Bone "additive": Vitamin K

Just as food requires certain additives, bones also need the additive vitamin K to activate a very important protein in bones - osteocalcin, thereby improving the bone's ability to resist bending.

Harvard University research shows that women with lower vitamin K intake are at increased risk of osteoporosis and femoral fractures. Dutch research has found that supplementing with vitamin K can promote children's bone health and reduce the occurrence of arthritis.

Nutritional strategy: The darker the green color of vegetable leaves in the diet, the higher the content of vitamin K. Eating only 500 grams of vegetables per day, including over 300 grams of deep green leafy vegetables, can effectively prevent vitamin K deficiency.

People who take antibiotics for a long time may have their gut microbiota balance disrupted, affecting the synthesis of vitamin K. They should pay special attention to eating more green leafy vegetables. In addition, vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin, so it is best not to eat raw vegetables when supplementing, but to add seasoning oil and stir fry until cooked.

7. Skeleton cleaner: Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is the only vitamin containing the mineral phosphorus, which plays an important role in maintaining bone hardness. It is like a "cleaner" that can clear homocysteine from the blood, protect bones, and prevent osteoporosis and even hip fractures caused by excessive homocysteine.

Nutritional strategy: Animal liver, shellfish, lean beef, whole wheat bread, and low-fat dairy products are all foods rich in vitamin B12. However, it is difficult for the elderly to absorb vitamin B12, and plant-based foods (excluding algae such as spirulina) do not contain vitamin B12. Therefore, people over 50 years old and vegetarians can take supplements appropriately, with a daily intake standard of 2.4 micrograms.

Recommended Traditional Chinese Medicine for Promoting Bone Growth: Cistanche deserticola

superman herbs cistanche

Click here to view Cistanche deserticola tea products

【Ask for more】 Email:cindy.xue@wecistanche.com /  Whats App:  0086 18599088692 /  Wechat:  18599088692

Cistanche deserticola Y.C.Ma, a traditional Chinese medicine for tonifying the kidney, is recorded in the 2015 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. It is a succulent stem of the genus Cistanche in the family Lewandaceae, mainly distributed in Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, Qinghai, and Xinjiang. Cistanche deserticola and Tubular Cistanche deserticola have extremely high medicinal value. They enter the kidney and large intestine meridians. The Compendium of Materia Medica records that Cistanche deserticola "is a nourishing but not severe substance, so it is called Cistanche deserticola" and "it is warm but can moisten, replenish but not dry, smooth but not diarrhea". 

It has the effects of tonifying kidney yang, benefiting essence and blood, moistening the intestines, and defecating. Traditionally, it is used for kidney yang deficiency, deficiency of essence and blood, impotence, infertility, soreness of the waist and knees, weakness of muscles and bones, and constipation due to intestinal dryness, It is the most frequently used tonifying kidney yang medicine in history. Modern pharmacological research shows that Cistanche deserticola has many effects such as improving sexual function, anti-aging, improving learning and memory ability, anti-Alzheimer's disease, defecation, etc. It is widely used in clinical prescriptions of Chinese medicine, traditional Chinese patent medicines, and simple preparations and health care products.

Cistanche deserticola efficacy

The main chemical components of Cistanche deserticola are phenylethanoid glycosides, iridoids, and their glycosides, lignans, and polysaccharides. Modern pharmacological studies have shown that phenylethanoid glycosides are the most important active substances in Cistanche deserticola, and have obvious anti-Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, myocardial ischemia, and other effects.

The functional component of traditional Chinese medicine herb Cistanche deserticola, pineal glycoside, can enhance various indicators of bone tissue, increase the proportion of osteoprotegerin (OPC) and osteoclast differentiation factor-kB, highlighting its advantageous role in promoting bone regeneration and having a good therapeutic effect on osteoporosis.