Bone Health - Part 2
Alright, I’m back. Have you all been watching your digestion and increasing your fatty acid consumption to help build up your beautiful bones? For those of who are just tuning in now, I am referring to some of the primary areas that help to build strong bones which I addressed here in part 1, “Bone Health”.
Today is part 2 in which I simply want to highlight one practice that actually leaches calcium from the bones. There are other factors that leach calcium from the bones (stress, caffeine), but this is the one I think is really important for you to understand. Plus one thing is easy to remember, right?
Sugary and refined foods play a huge role in leaching calcium from our bones, thereby making them weaker.
Here is what happens: Your body tightly regulates the blood pH by keeping it in the range of 7.35 to 7.45. This is its optimal range and necessary so you don’t die (no exaggeration).
How does your body keep the blood pH consistently in this range? Your body uses calcium to buffer the pH by pulling calcium out of the bones when the blood becomes too acidic. The addition of calcium into blood that is becoming too acidic will help keep the blood pH in this slightly alkaline and optimal range. When your blood becomes too alkaline, your body will pull calcium from the blood and put it back into the bones.
Eating sugary and refined foods creates an acidic environment in your blood, which results in your body pulling more and more calcium from your bones in order to keep the blood pH in its optimal range.
In practical terms, this means each time you have a soda, or a slice of decadent cake, your blood will become more acidic. This results in your body drawing calcium from your bones to maintain the proper pH. Now, I am all for an indulgence here and there. It is the day-in and day-out habits of eating sugary or processed foods that needs to change.
Eating a wide variety of whole foods is essential to keeping your blood pH balanced. A whole foods diet also provides your body with many additional minerals that work in connection with calcium (that is a whole other story).
Take a closer look at your food intake. Are the foods you are eating packaged? Are they on the sweeter side, with lots of additional sugar or other sweeteners? Now is the time to shift these habits so that your bones and thus your physique, strength, and stature will remain for years to come.
