Here is a simple food that supposedly has a lot of health benefits: ginger miso broth.  I saw it at Trader Joe's, bought a carton and finally tried it this week. It's quite tasty, even plain. Several articles popped up in a web search for health benefits of miso. It's made from fermented soy, so it provides probiotics, similar to those found in yogurt, kefir and sourkraut. For those who cannot tolerate dairy, miso is a good alternative source of probiotics. 

Regarding effects on bone density, miso has an alkalizing effect and the soy can act like estrogen in the body. According to one article, miso also has a variety of bone-building minerals, including calcium, magnesium, manganese and selenium, as well as Vitamin K, which helps the body absorb calcium.

A second bone-building tip for the week comes from my experience with a walking program through my workplace where we try to log between 6,000 and 10,000 steps a day on our pedometers.  At the end of the day, when I'm just short about 500 or 600 steps, i go down to our finished basement where the CD player is and play two 4-minute workout songs. It's so much fun to dance to the music that I can get a good 8-minute workout, log all the necessary steps, and make it a bone-building routine by hopping and jumping a bit with the dancing. Sometimes all we have time for is a very short burst of exercise in a day, but it adds up. 

Congratulations to all who ran in last weekend's Chicago Marathon!  That's an accomplishment to be proud of. And it usually requires months of training, discipline and determination. 

For those who have osteopenia or who want to prevent bone loss by exercising, is training for and running a marathon a good strategy?  Research has shown, surprisingly, that long distance runners tend to have lower bone density than non-runners. It turns out that sprinting shorter distances leads to stronger bones (see article in Runners World) 

If you are wanting to make the most of your exercising to build your bones, then training for a marathon is not recommended. In my opinion, shorter, faster runs are more fun, anyway.  Sprinting is exhilarating and is actually good for the body.  Interval runs keep your heart rate up, providing a good aerobic workout and the pounding that takes place during sprinting stimulates bone growth. So run like the wind for as many years as you can!

Now that it's October, you might want to try one of the following sports or activities to continue to build your bone strength:

1. Platform tennis - aka paddle tennis.  This is a cool season sport, played from October through March in northern states. Like other racket sports, it involves jumping and other weight bearing exercise and studies have shown that playing racket sports can increase bone density. Here's a video explaining more about the game.
   
   

2. Yoga.  Here's an article that explains more about how yoga can build bone density in hip, spine and wrist.  Note:  if you try hot yoga, be sure to take extra calcium following your workout, as the intense sweating can cause your body to lose calcium.
3. Walking or hiking with a backpack. Fall is a great time to get out and walk in the woods or even in your neighborhood to enjoy the beautiful colors and cool air. If you weigh less than 127 pounds, it's important to carry some extra weight, either with a weighted vest or backpack, if you want your walk to strengthen your bones.
4. Tai Chi. This gentle exercise can be performed at any age and has been shown to slow bone loss in older adults.
5. Dancing. Whether you enjoy meeting friends at the local  bar for country line dance lessons, or taking a ballroom dance class or simply turning up the music at home to  dance when no one is watching, it's a great exercise for keeping your bones strong, and for most people, a lot more fun than working out in a gym. 

As of now, Weebly, the host of this blog/website does not have a way for you, the reader, to subscribe to Boomerbones.com  directly via email.  However, if you would like to get updates sent to your email address, you can add this blog to an RSS feed reader, such as Bloglovin or Feedly.  You can discover lots of other blogs by doing this.