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Nutrition's Role In Increasing
The Speed Of Bone Healing
"One of the most important influences
on fracture healing is nutrition," says orthopedist Martin Yahiro, M.D.,
a consultant to FDA. "That's why it's so important get enough calcium
and vitamin D," he notes.
The healing time for broken bones is influenced by a number of variables
that nutrition can impact including blood supply. For example, the ends
of long bones are vascular so they heal faster than the center. Certain
types of food and exercise foster increased blood supply and hence time
it takes to heal. Mobilization, i.e. weight bearing exercises and
isometric exercises stimulates healing.
High Calcium
Foods For Bone Healing
There are a number of foods that
are high in calcium to consider. The following chart should serve as a
guideline.
Type of food Amount Milligrams of Calcium
Non fat yogurt 1 cup 415
Sardines (Atlantic with bones) 3 oz 372
Collard Greens 1 cup 355
Pink Salmon (canned with bones) 6oz 334
Skim Milk 1 cup 302
Calcium Fortified Orange Juice 1 cup 302
Bok Choy 1 cup 250
Almonds 3 oz 198
Turnip Greens 1 cup 200
Soy Beans 1 cup 180
Broccoli 1 cup 180
Mustard Greens 1 cup 150
Black Molasses 1 tbsp. 140
Great Northern Beans 1 cup 140
Non fat Baked Beans 1 cup 130
Tofu 1 cup 130
Navy beans 1 cup 130
Corn Tortilla 1 tortilla 120
Kidney Beans 1 cup 115
Okra 1 cup 90
Acorn Squash 1 cup 90
Spinach (Cooked) 1 cup 74
Orange 1 med. 60
Raisins 1/4 22
Peanut butter 2 tbsp. 18
The key to better usage of your calcium intake is not just increasing
the calcium but also increasing your ability to absorb the calcium.
Lysine To Increase Calcium
Absorption
Lysine is an amino acid that helps in
the absorption of calcium. Lysine a protein building block, can increase
the amount of calcium absorbed into the matrix according to Peter Furst,
M.D.,PhD. in the Jan./Feb. 1993, Nutrition (9: 70-2). It is an essential
amino acid necessary for the regeneration of tissues, and the building
and healing of broken bones. Research studies show that lysine can
increase the amount of calcium absorbed into the bone matrix. The amount
in one particular study was 800 mg. As lysine promotes the formation of
muscle protein, it may be important in healing after operations and
injuries. There are a number of foods that can add lysine to your diet,
such as low fat milk, fish, yeast, and soy products. I find that
defatted soy flour is the best source of Lysine because there are 3300mg
of lysine in 3 1/2 ounces of defatted soy flour. This is an important
reason to use defatted soy flour in the foods you eat.
Vitamin C As A
Bone Healer
Vitamin C is essential nutritionally to make
the collagen that helps the body form healthy bones. It also promotes
wound healing. You also can get numerous additional benefits from
Vitamin C. For example, researchers at New Mexico Medical School found
that adults with high blood levels of vitamin C scored higher on mental
tasks than those with low levels of vitamin C.
Aspirin And
Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Can Retard Bone Healing
When you break a bone or tear a muscle and are
on pain medication, you may want to try to stop taking the pain
medication as soon as possible so you do not delay healing. A study in
May 1995 issue of The Journal of Orthopedic Trauma shows damaged cells
in a fracture release large amount of chemicals called prostaglandins.
These chemicals cause the pain and are blocked by the pain medication.
However prostaglandins are also very important in the first stage of
tissue repair. So decreasing the use as soon as possible is helpful to
the healing process.
Furthermore a study in the October 1995 issue of the Journal of
Rheumatology found that continued use of anti-inflammatory drugs over
several months can increase the rate of cartilaginous breakdown in
joints of people who have osteoarthritis. The drugs mentioned in the
studies include Aspirin, Anaprox, Lodine, Meclomin, Motrin, Naprosin,
Pensile, Relafen, Toreador, Tolectin, Indocin and Ibuprofen.
Vitamin K To
Promote Bone Healing
Vitamin K, also called Menadione, is a very
important fat-soluble vitamin that plays a key role in the regulation of
normal blood clotting functions. We get vitamin K from several sources
in our diet including dark leafy vegetables. Vitamin K also assists in
converting glucose into glycogen for storage in the liver. Numerous
studies indicate that it plays a role in forming bone formation and
preventing osteoporosis. If you want to help bones heal faster, consider
increasing your intake of Vitamin K rich foods.
Smoking Slows
The Healing Of Broken Bones
Many studies have shown that broken bones tend
to take longer to heal if the injured person has been smoking.
Cigarettes can also increase the risk of blood clotting, which may
further reduce blood flow. Breakdown products of cigarette smoke include
carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, nitrosamines and benzenes which can
damage the cells that form the bone itself and can interrupt the healing
process after a fracture or bone injury.
Boron's Role
In Bone Healing
Boron is important in bone healing because
studies how show it reduces urinary excretion of calcium and magnesium
and significantly increases blood levels of both estrogen and
testosterone. The are many food high in boron. Apples are the highest.
Avoid bone
robbers
To maximize the rate of healing it is helpful
to avoid bone robbers such as sugar, salt, alcohol, caffeine, red meats
etc.
Role of silica and zinc
Both silica and zinc are important for the
repair of tissues. Silica is also important also in helping the calcium
to be absorbed. Ensuring that these are in you diet is a another way to
potentially decrease the time it takes to heal from a fracture |
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