SKYBIS Technologies LLP - Blog , Health & Fitness

Important Tips to Strengthen Your Bones

Mon, 30 Apr 2018 03:30:30 +0530

Sports involving weight-bearing activities improve the quality of bones. High impact sports such as volleyball or odd-impact sports such as soccer, badminton are associated with higher Bone Mineral Density. Optimise your kid’s bone health by encouraging them to play a variety of high impact and odd-impact sports to maintain overall bone health. Here are some important tips to strengthen your bones.

Bones is a living mineralised matrix of calcium, phosphate and other biological elements. Calcium and phosphates in bones confer strength to its structure. Studies have shown that the Bone Mineral Content or BMC increases 40 fold from birth till adulthood, peaking when the person is in their 20’s. Approximately 40% to 60% of the bone mass is accumulated during the adolescent years.

Bone mass accrued during the early years determines the overall bone health in our lifetime and can also prevent diseases such as Osteoporosis.

So how do we optimise bone health in children? Well, there are broadly 2 main factors affecting bone mass.

Non-modifiable factors such as gender, genetics and ethnicity.
Modifiable factors such as diet, exercise, body weight and hormonal status.

This gives us room to just work with the modifiable factors.

Maintaining a right balanced healthy diet improves the bone health. Diet for bone health is a combination of Calcium, Vitamin D, Sodium, Protein and Soda.

Calcium

Milk and milk products are a primary source of calcium. Apart from calcium, milk provides protein, vitamin D, magnesium and phosphorus which are vital ingredients for a healthy bone. Its recommended consulting a paediatrician for lactose intolerant children.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a hormone required for calcium absorption and utilization. Studies have shown that absence of Vitamin D can result in only 10% to 15% of calcium absorption. Sunlight is a major source for Vitamin D. Research have shown us that exposure to UV B radiation in the range of 290 to 315 nm from sunlight is the major source of vitamin D. Food supplements for Vitamin D include cod liver oil, fatty fish (eg, salmon, sardines, tuna), and fortified foods such as milk, orange juice, yogurts and cheese.

Sodium, Proteins and Soda

The right amount of Sodium, proteins and soda can boost the overall health of your bones. Low sodium will predispose subjects to low calcium retention and high sodium promotes increased urinary calcium excretion and hence should be avoided. It’s recommended to consult a dietician to find out your right amount of sodium, protein and soda intake.

Exercise

Exercise such as playing sports boosts bone health. Studies have shown that mechanical forces applied to the skeleton increase the overall bone formation. Weight-bearing exercises or games such as running, skipping increases the Bone Mineral Density (BMD). High impact sports such as volleyball Orr odd-impact sports such as soccer, badminton are associated with higher BMD. However, excessive high impact exercises can also lead to fracture. Hence a balance should be maintained between high impact and low impact exercises.

Body Weight

Body weight plays an important role in the quality of bones. Maintaining healthy body weight during childhood is recommended to optimise bone health.

Hormonal Status

Hormones such as Estrogen and Testosterones play an important in maintaining healthy bones.

Key Takeaways

Promote weight-bearing activities to your kids. Encourage them to go out and play.
Consume adequate calcium and proteins and avoid excessive sodium.
Consume adequate Vitamin D by encouraging your kids to play more outdoor games.

References

“Optimizing Bone Health in Children and Adolescents” by Neville H. Golden, Steven A. Abrams, COMMITTEE ON NUTRITION. Pediatrics, Oct 2014, Vol 134/ Issue 4

Sports could be the secret behind longer healthy living

Sat, 07 Apr 2018 18:36:41 +0530

A healthy diet, maintaining balanced BMI and quitting our bad smoking habit can all lead to healthy living. However, there is one other secret weapon to healthy and happy living. It's sports.

According to a research published in the British Journal of sports medicine, men who play sports involving endurance tend to live longer and happier compared to their brothers in the same demographic.

It was concluded that “Former elite athletes are more physically active, smoke less, have better self-rated health and live longer than their brothers. Genetic differences between athletes and brothers, aerobic training for endurance elite sports and a healthier lifestyle may all contribute to reduced mortality.”

This research examined the health-related habits of 900 Finnish former athletes and concluded that athletes lived 2-3 years longer than their non-athlete brothers. In another article “Do Elite Athletes Live Longer? A Systematic Review of Mortality and Longevity in Elite Athletes.”, by Lemez.S and Baker.J concluded that “Baseball, football, soccer, basketball, and cycling had the most reported data on elite athletes' lifespan longevities. A variety of mechanisms have attempted to explain mortality risk (e.g., handedness, playing position, achievement, etc.). Considerable support was found for superior longevity outcomes for elite athletes, particularly those in endurance and mixed sports. “

Research such as these only strengthens our belief that playing sports helps us live longer, healthier and happier. Aren’t these the basic expectations we all have? I am sure we do. Even if you haven’t given it a thought yet, it shouldn’t stop you from tying up your sports shoes, getting to the field in your jersey, playing hard and having fun. Nevertheless, playing sports with just an intent of having fun will only cause health benefits, reduce stress, live longer, healthier and most important of all - happier.

Journal reference: British Journal of Sports Medicine

5 values that sports teach your kids to become better human beings

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 18:36:40 +0530

As parents and coaches, we always tend to tell our kids - this is how you bat, this is how you run, be a top performer and so on. But, over a period of time what I realized was that there are much more to tell our kids what is really important for them to succeed in the sport they play. Here is our take on the 5 values that sports help your kids to be a better sportsperson.

1: Sports are fun!

Sports involve hard work. Playing under the scorching sun on a dusty ground is no easy job. But, kids must enjoy playing and realize that at the end of the day, it was all fun. Find out a suitable time and space for your kids to have fun and not burn out much. You could also book a venue so that schedules can be managed better.

2: It's all about teamwork!

Sports teach your kids to work together as a team, making them better as an individual player. Playing in a team teaches our kids interpersonal skills or as we call it as “soft skills”. Looking into the future, machines are going to do most of the work we are doing today and the one skills that will differentiate humans from the rest are these soft skills.

Playing as a team, helps kids to interact with other kids from varied background. They will work together, identify the core team strengths and manage their team better in achieving the team’s goals.

3: Sports for everyone!

As parents and coaches, we need to ensure that kids get to play together irrespective of their social, economic or racial background. We need to make that happen. Sports brings fun and imbibes a sense of togetherness.

4: Stay Humble!

Sports teaches our kids to lead and support everyone in the team. An effective leader is one who moves forward as a team and stays humble. Playing with a team teaches our kids to interact with other kids with varying personalities. This helps our kids to be more patient and humble to bring the best out of each individual in a team. At the end of the day, it’s all about achieving the team goals collectively.

5: Let kids have fun!

This is a value which should be practised by parents. Keep your personal ambitions, ego at bay and let your kids play and have fun. Winning a game or losing one is never permanent, it’s just rented for some time.