Dangerous foods. What decreases bone health?
Your bones play a key role in providing a strong framework for your body. Your bone health can obviously be improved by making healthier choices in your diet.
However, when we speak of the importance of diet, we do not mean just the foods that can improve bone health. We also need to be aware of the dangerous foods that can make their bones weaker and porous which can lead to fracture and worse!.
Avoid eating these foods in order to maintain the strength of your bones. You’ll be surprised to see everyday foods that you may be eating that could be causing real harm to your bones!
7 Dangerous Foods That Can Increase Your Risk Of Bone Diseases
1. High-Sodium Foods
Foods that contain a high amount of sodium or salts could be harmful to your bones. because a high salt intake could be associated with an increased risk of osteoporosis in women.
A higher intake of salt could cause your bones to lose minerals, especially calcium and here’s why: Since both calcium and sodium are positively charged elements, they compete with each other and try to replace each other in the tissues. [1]
So, when you consume foods containing a higher amount of sodium, the sodium tries to replace calcium from the bones and deprives these tissues of the essential mineral. This is why women are specifically advised to control their sodium intake.
Sodium in salt also promotes the excretion of calcium from the urine thus reducing the mineral content of the bones further.
All of us should reduce our consumption of chips, fries, crisps, processed foods, and ready meals like fast foods because most of these have high salt content.
But we knew that already, right? Here’s a tip that we can put into practice right away; take the salt shaker off the table. If we stop the habit we can reduce our sodium intake, helping our bones get the calcium they need. [2]
2. Energy Drinks or Danger Zone?
What? Really? Well, it turns out that energy drinks, contrary to their names, are limited in their ability to help you feel energetic. And they for sure don’t provide a sustained source of energy from healthy sources.
Most energy drinks are full of carbs in the form of simple sugars that can lead to weight gain and increase your risk of osteoarthritis.
Additionally, energy drinks frequently don’t have vitamins and minerals that could be good for your bones or general health. They do not help much except for providing a short-term surge in your energy level.
Most fruit juices and carbonated soft drinks also contain phosphoric acid and chemical preservatives. Phosphoric acid could increase the output of calcium in your urine and may result faster loss of calcium from the bones which spells trouble – especially for menopausal women at the risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis. [3] [4]
We need to avoid energy drinks as well as fruit juices and carbonated beverages. Let’s drink more water first, and the occasional freshly prepared fruit juice or smoothy – preferably without adding sugars!
3. Sugary Snacks are Dangerous Foods
Foods containing sugars or carbohydrates can affect your metabolism of nutrients like calcium and vitamin D and your risk of osteoporosis.
Though the direct impact of carbohydrates on bone health is minimal, it can affect any one of us severely by contributing to obesity.
Weight gain caused by sugary snacks can increase the pressure on your weight-bearing joints like the knees and hips and can trigger inflammation in the joints causing osteoarthritis. Let’s limit our intake of foods containing simple carbs. [5] [6]
4. Caffeine
WAKE UP! Just kidding. Research studies have revealed that excessive consumption of coffee and other caffeinated beverages could contribute to low bone mineral density especially in postmenopausal women. Caffeine can stimulate the removal of calcium from the bones thus sapping their strength. [7]
When combined with sugar added to your mug of coffee, or a sugary donut or roll, the harmful impact of caffeine on your bone health could become worse. It may stimulate inflammation in the joints and increase joint pains and stiffness. [8]
Honestly, you can kick the caffeine habit (like I did – it took me three days and I haven’t looked back) and limit your intake of coffee and caffeinated drinks. You’ll be glad you did.
5. Alcohol
Too much alcohol (beer, wine, cocktails) has been found to contribute to low bone density. It may inhibit bone formation and increase the risk of fractures. Increasing your intake of alcoholic beverages may also delay the healing of inflamed joints and fractures. [9]
For your bone health, try to limit your alcohol intake to not more than two to three glasses a day. The more you know…
6. Beans and legumes can be Dangerous Foods
Did you know that navy beans, pinto beans, and peas contain a high amount of phytates that can interfere with the body’s ability to absorb calcium? And we know that lack of calcium can lead to osteoporosis and osteopenia.
But we aren’t telling you to avoid them completely since beans are also rich in magnesium, and fiber, and other nutrients. Just soak the beans in water for one or two hours before cooking to reduce their phytate content. For delicious bean recipes you can click here!
7. Inflammatory Foods
Some foods like tomatoes, mushrooms, white potatoes, peppers, and eggplant can stimulate the release of pro-inflammatory substances by the immune system.
But just like beans, these foods also offer a rich source of essential vitamins and minerals, it is best to only limit their consumption if you are already suffering from osteoarthritis and ask your doctor about healthy mineral sources to make sure you’re getting enough, but not too much.
Are you eating dangerous foods?
It’s simple – stay away from foods that affect the health of your bones by interfering with the metabolism of essential nutrients or limit the bone formation process. You can easily minimize your intake of these foods to protect the bones and strengthen the framework of their body.
References:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27702731
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28074252
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17448120
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5693714/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5905611/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3444812/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27756278
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25804275
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26463219
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28096123
