Bone Health Vitamins knows that for many of us, we have major lifestyle changes as fall and winter approach. We may not be outdoors as much with colder weather and shorter days. And less time outdoors, and less sun exposure, can mean a deficiency in Vitamin D, a critical vitamin for bone health.

Did you know that typically about 5-20 minutes of sun exposure between 10 am and 3 pm about twice a week is the recommended amount for sufficient Vitamin D for the average adult? Not much, right? However, many of us do not get that, especially in the Fall and and Winter. My doctor recently informed me that if you live above 42 degrees north latitude (you could draw a line on a map of the U.S. between the northern California and Boston) you will not get enough sunlight for cutaneous vitamin D absorbtion and synthesis from November through February. If you live even further north, this reduced intensity lasts for up to 6 months. The good news is that for others living in latitudes below 34 degrees north (drawing another line between Los Angeles and Columbia, South Carolina) those U.S. residents do receive sufficient sunlight for cutaneous production of vitamin D throughout the year.

As previously revealed in our site in an article entitled, “Bone Health Vitamins and Key Vitamins for Women”, Vitamin D is essential for calcium absorption and fighting off osteoporosis. In fact, this is not just about women’s bones, but the bone health in men as well. Furthermore, Vitamin D is a key vitamin that we should ensure is part of the daily diet and routine for our children and teenagers as it is never too early to focus on bone health.

How can you maintain your necessary Vitamin D intake? First of all, you should be getting about 400-800 IU of Vitamin D. This is a range, and you should discuss your Vitamin D needs with your physician before starting any kind of vitamin or supplement for your bones. D3 is typically the best Vitamin D vitamin supplement to get for bone health, as it is usually the best-absorbed.

You can also address your daily Vitamin D needs in your diet. Unfortunately, few foods in nature contain Vitamin D. However, many fortified foods do include Vitamin D, especially milk, as milk fortification was long ago implemented to combate rickets.

D-rich foods include:

Fish, such as tuna, sardines, salmon

Fish Oil

Vitamin D fortified foods like milk or orange juice, yogurt (check labels closely, as different products may or may not fortify with Vitamin D) and breakfast cereals

There are great supplement options to ensure that you get the daily allotment of Vitamin D for your bone health when you see less and less sun in the Fall and Winter months. Discuss your Vitamin D options with your physician and create a plan to address Vitamin D in both your diet, lifestyle and daily vitamin supplements!

Bone Health Vitamins and Bone Health Supplements want to remind you that your mom was right about eating your fruits and veggies!   Did you know that one of the best things that you can do to improve your bone health is to eat more fruits and veggies?

I recently read that people who consume the most fruits and vegetables enjoy higher bone density levels than those that have diets low in fruits and vegetables.  This is based off of the diets of people who consumed at least 5 servings per day of fruits and vegetables.    Only FIVE servings a day can dramatically impact bone density levels?  Seems easy to accomplish, right?

Tips to enjoy more fruits and veggies:

Add fresh fruit to your morning routine of cereal or outmeal.  Just a handful of fresh berries a day can bring healthy antioxidants to your diet and help you to maintain stronger bones!

Skip the soda, substitute a fresh fruit juice.  The soda may give you a short term sugar boost, however, the fruit juice will give your body a natural boost, as well as positively impact your bone density! 

Cut up carrots, celery, apple slices and other yummy natural snacks and have them fridge-ready and handy in snack-size baggies.   They are easy to grab, easy to pack in a briefcase, backpack or purse, and you can take all the work out of preparing the snacks by creating multiple snack packs all at once!  You can even add healthy, organic peanut butter, almond butter, hummus or other healthy spreads and snacks to make the veggie or fruit snack more appealing and less boring or monotonous!

Add veggies to every meal, by adding a side salad, or incorporating the vegetables into the meal itself.  Love pasta?  Adding brocoli to your usual pasta meal not only adds appetizing color, but a healthy way to fortify your bone density.  Chop carrots, celery and other veggies into your hamburger mix, chili or meatloaf.  You will add a new level of flavors, add moisture and texture to your usual meal and impact your bones! 

Hit the Farmer’s Market, or check out local produce providers to get the freshest fruit and veggies available, as well as interesting new varieties that you can experiment with in your cooking and baking.  If  you do not have a Farmer’s Market available, check out services that will deliver fresh, in-season fruits and vegetables to  your doorstep!   Farm Fresh to You is just one example, you may be able to find a service in your community or surrounding community that offers a similar service!  AAA Fruit Baskets can be the best gift you give to a loved one, or even yourself!    Shop Fruit Baskets Now

Got a sweet tooth?  Eat a yogurt with fresh fruit, or an energy bar with a fruit serving.  The natural sweetness of fruit can soothe that sweet tooth, saving you calories and fat…and making for stronger bones!

Okay, fine.  So you cannot eat enough fruits and vegetables.   At least take a multi-vitamin or bone health vitamin to your daily routine to help your body get  those much needed vitamins and minerals found naturally in fruits and vegetables. 

Do you have other great ideas on how to add fruit and vegetable servings to your every day routine?

What are the Best Vitamins Recommended for Women?

Bone Health Vitamins presents the following article regarding the best vitamins for women to take.  We recommend discussing any changes in your vitamin routine with your physician.

With so many vitamin companies on the market it gets increasingly difficult to know what is safe and reliable today. Take a sneak preview what to trust your health to these days!

The Women Health magazine mentions in its May review – "While Food and Drug Administration daily value recommendations for vitamins haven’t changed since 1968, what we know about nutrition has. The Institute of Medicine has new recommendations for vitamins called dietary reference intakes."

The main four essential multivitamin supplements that women require are

– Calcium,
– Vitamin D,
– Magnesium and
– Vitamin K

Finding the best brand of vitamin supplements can be quite difficult with so many brands to choose from on the market. Though this may seem to be impossible with every manufacturer saying they are the best, we have found it not to be the case.

Today more so than before you can do your due diligence by finding reviews that independently compare vitamin. It is important to find a calcium pill that has Vit D in it as the Vit D helps in the best absorption of the calcium into your cells.

Calcium is best needed to help develop peak levels of bone mass in the growth years of a developing woman. If minerals such as calcium intakes are lower in the early years the onset of osteoporosis is quite common when adulthood is reached.

"The most important time to get a sufficient amounts of calcium is while bone growth and consolidation are occurring, a period that continues until approximately age 30 to 35," says Marilyn Stephenson, a registered dietitian with FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. "The idea is, if you can build a maximum peak of calcium deposits early on, this may delay fractures that occur later in life." This article maybe read at http://www.enotalone.com/article/7847.html

The supplementation of magnesium not only assist with proper absorption of calcium but also plays an important role in disease protection, lowering the risk of diabetes, heart disease and colon cancer. New DRIs say that we should be taking at least 320mgs a day of magnesium for best results.

Vitamin D is fat soluble and is sparingly found in foods, maybe found as an added nutrient to processed foods or maybe taken as a supplement pill. This special vitamin may also be produced by the action of ultra violet rays of the sun converting Vit D in our skin. For Vitamin D to be bioavailable in our bodies it has to undergo a couple of changes in our body system for it to be beneficial and play its part in calcium absorption.

The importance of Vit D in our bodies especially women are that it helps in the calcium absorption in the intestine and helps to maintain required amounts of serum calcium and phosphate level concentrations which are important for bone mineralization and prevention of hypocalcemic tetany.

Hypocalcemic tetany means less serum calcium resulting in muscle spasms. The lack of Vit D will trigger bone brittleness and thinness such as found in patients suffering from rickets. Proper levels of Vit D helps prevent rickets in children. If you took adequate amounts of calcium along with Vit D the occurrence of osteoporosis in adults is reduced.

Vitamin K is an important ingredient that helps with bone health. Though Vit K has benefits you should always consult your doctor if you are on medication as it can interfere with blood thinners in drugs.

What vitamins prenatal or pregnant women need for optimum health?

For women who are exercising regularly or are pregnant it is recommended that their iron intake should be increased as compared to females who are not. The reason why iron is important during this period is because it plays a vital role in helping hemoglobin to best deliver oxygen to our cells in greater amounts.

The lack of or loss of iron will cause headaches, pallor and fatigue among women. Try taking a vitamin that has all the B complex supplements in it. The B group of vitamins help in energy production and good carbohydrate metabolism.

Please be aware that women over the age of 50 may need less iron as they do not loose iron as younger women do during their periods. If older women have an iron problem then they need to consult their doctor as the loss of iron could be something their doctor needs to look into.

If women find it hard to have a meat diet, then it is recommended that they should consider supplementing vitamins with the B group of vitamins and iron. Women get tired more easily than men and hence need more B group of vitamins. They can add carrot juice to boost the delivery of Vit A.

For those women who are considering becoming pregnant it is prudent to start supplementation of a high quality vitamin before pregnancy.

Vit B9 or folic acid plays an important role in reducing spina bifida in infants.This infant deformity occurs early in the pregnancy if folic acid is absent.

Taking a high quality fish oil supplement from a trusted vitamin manufacturer will help with the development of the baby’s brain. Omega 3 fatty acids have been found to improve the baby’s brain development during pregnancy.

If you are considering falling pregnant please be warned that some supplements have Vit A present in them. Vit A can harm the unborn baby in the womb.

Trading Standards watchdogs and charity Birth Defects Foundation Newlife found a third of products do not carry clear labels showing they contain vitamin A.

Best Vitamins Recommended For Women
Why women must take a proactive approach in their health today? Take a closer look now!