For many people, Thanksgiving weekend is a four-day holiday, with the main activity gathering for a Thanksgiving feast with family and/or friends. For those of us who want to take a holistic approach to preventing or reversing osteoporosis without harsh medications, Thanksgiving weekend can be a great time to bank bone-building nutrition, rest, and exercise. 

Here are some tips for making the most of this fun, low-key holiday weekend and benefit your bones at the same time:

• Try mashed rutabaga (with butter and a little milk, salt and pepper) as a side dish.  One cup of this cooked vegetable has 115 mg. of calcium. 
• If you're going to drink alcohol, drink beer in moderation, especially India Pale Ale, which has a high silicon content which has been shown to help stimulate bone growth.
• Aim for a dinner plate filled with 3/4 vegetables and 1/4 meat. Fruit and nuts are good for snacks and provide protein and nutrients good for building bones. 
• Pumpkin pie is a good choice for dessert; pumpkin is high in potassium, which is linked to better bone density.
• Get some extra sleep; adequate sleep helps prevent excessive cortisol production, which is associated with bone loss.
• Sneak in some exercise during the weekend. Take a run outside, if weather permits,  play a racquet sport such as platform tennis, play a game of soccer with friends or family, steal time for a workout with weights, or take the family for a brisk after-Thanksgiving dinner walk.
• If you are cooking a turkey, save the turkey bones and make some healthy bone broth.  You will have enough for the freezer for those cold winter nights ahead.
• Enjoy the company of your family and friends and take time to laugh.   Even the Bible mentions this:  Proverbs 17:22 (NIV) A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
• Happy Thanksgiving!
  

As a late night person, I should have guessed that staying up late and not getting enough sleep can undermine any efforts to build bones. Just doing a quick search on the internet confirmed that suspicion. Sleep deprivation can cause higher levels of cortisol, which has been shown to slow bone growth. So can other forms of stress. On that note, I will make this a short post and get some sleep!  Here are a few of the articles I found on this topic:

Cortisol and Bone Loss - A Woman's Health

                                                                              High cortisol causes bone loss - Natural News

                                                                              Research study -The role of stress-induced cortisol in the relationship 
                                                                              between depression and decreased bone mineral density