Heathy Right Down to the Bone

You can't feel it, but your osteoblasts and osteoclasts are hard at work on your bones. Not sure what they are? They're the busy bone cells that continually remodel your skeletal structure �?osteoclasts break down old bone, while osteoblasts continually make new bone.

While it's a myth that your bones stop growing after childhood or even after your 30s or 40s, new bone growth does slow down drastically after menopause, thanks to greater activity on the part of the osteoclasts. Bone loss is actually at its highest in the first three to five years following menopause. This puts postmenopausal women at greater risk of developing osteoporosis, a condition that weakens bones and causes them to fracture easily. In fact, nearly half of women in the U.S. will have an osteoporosis-related fracture at some point in their lives.

To prevent this from happening, it's important to keep your bones strong throughout your life. The good news is that it's never too late to start because bone health is an ongoing process.

Calcium is the best way to protect your bones. You can take a supplement (500 to 600 mg twice a day is best), but it's also easy to get calcium the natural way. Aside from dairy, leafy green vegetables, grains, and almonds are also good sources of calcium. Vitamin D (200 to 400 IU daily) and magnesium (250 mg daily) are two other important components of bone health that you should stock up on.

Finally, remember keep the alcohol in check �?three drinks a day can accelerate bone loss.