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Maintain Your Bones, Joints, and Muscles

by Dr. Julian Whitaker

Published 02/03/09

The human musculoskeletal system is a marvel of engineering. Our bones, joints, and muscles allow us to perform activities as graceful as dancing and as strenuous as running a marathon.

Unfortunately, time takes its toll. The most evident example of this is osteoarthritis, or degenerative joint disease, which affects 80 percent of Americans over age 50. Years of walking, bending, lifting, and other everyday activities damage the cartilage that cushions the joints, and the body's ability to make new cartilage cannot keep up with the demand.

Bone undergoes a similar process of degradation. Although bone may appear inert, in reality it is living, dynamic tissue that is constantly being broken down and rebuilt. As we get older, bone breakdown begins to outpace rebuilding, and bone density declines. This can result in osteoporosis, a condition that dramatically increases the risk of debilitating fractures.

The muscles also undergo an age-related decline in strength and mass called sarcopenia (literally, "poverty of flesh"). The average 30-year-old can expect to lose a quarter of his or her muscle mass by age 70 and another quarter by age 90. Though this loss of muscle is not a disease, it is the backdrop against which disease is played out, because your muscles are more than the means of body movement. They are also the storehouses of proteins used to make antibodies and white blood cells that support healing.

Exercise: Just What the Doctor Ordered

No therapy is as powerful at counteracting the effects of age on the bones, joints, and muscles as physical exercise. As little as 30 minutes of aerobic activity most days of the week does wonders to preserve muscle strength, balance, and function. Weight-bearing activities like fast walking or jogging also help arrest bone loss. And because aerobic exercise increases circulation to joint tissues and promotes weight loss, it helps reduce stress on the joints, eases pain, and even slows the progression of arthritis.

But to actually reverse bone loss and build muscle, you'll have to complement your aerobic exercise with strength training, or resistance exercise. Using fixed weights or barbells to work your muscles against a force that is stronger than they are used to encountering is an ideal way to build muscle strength and endurance.

Strength training reaps benefits quickly. Start tomorrow and you can expect to increase your strength by 30 to 100 percent over the next few months. Regular strength training can make an active 60-year-old as strong as a sedentary 30-year-old. It will also improve your balance, reduce the risk of falling, and decrease the likelihood of injury.

Your Menu for Musculoskeletal Health

While exercise is the most important component of an anti-aging program for your bones, joints, and muscles, there are other simple, practical things you can do to improve your musculoskeletal health right now. First, drink a glass of water. Making sure you're adequately hydrated is crucial to joint health because 85 percent of your cartilage is water.

While you're drinking that water, take a moment to recall last night's dinner. Was your plate dominated by a large serving of meat, accompanied by a potato drenched in butter and salt? A lifelong diet of high-protein, high-sodium foods leaches calcium from your bones. As for your muscles, while they need protein, a little bit goes a long way. Excess protein is broken down and stored as fat, and its byproducts are eliminated at some stress to the body.

The best diet for your bones, joints, and muscles is the same diet that I recommend to preserve the health of your heart, brain, and other organs: vegetables, fruits, beans, and whole grains, along with cold-water fish and lean poultry. This diet is naturally low in fat, with adequate protein to maintain muscles and an abundance of nutrients to fortify bones and combat the inflammatory processes that accelerate the aging of your joints. And as always, I recommend you take a high-potency daily multivitamin and mineral supplement to ensure proper nutrition.

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