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Strengthen your bones with seafood

Strengthen your bones with seafood

Published on January 18, 2021 | in Lifestyle, Nutrition, Physical Health By

by Ashleigh Feltham
Accredited Practising Dietitian and Accredited Nutritionist

Strengthen your bones with seafood

Having strong bones is essential for you to be able to move your body, bones also support the impact of this movement. Thirdly, bones protect your organs like your brain and heart. Around 942,000 Australians have osteoporosis or weakened and porous bones. It is not just an old person’s disease and can be seen in people younger than the age of 20.

Your bones are an active tissue that is constantly built up by bone promoter cells called osteoblasts and are taken away by bone removing cells called osteoclasts. Your diet largely impacts the strength and activity of the osteoblasts. Seafood provides a matrix of bone promoting factors and is a food that will help to create and maintain the strength of your bones.

Seafood is important in building optimal bone mineral density because it includes the essential omega-3 fat. Seafood like salmon with more omega-3 fat is strongly linked to a reduction in bone fractures and increased bone mineral density.

Fish is also a fantastic source of a type of protein that your body can easily use, it is a high-bioavailability protein. It is a type of protein that contains all the essential amino acids or building blocks that your body cannot make by itself to build a protein. Protein makes up around 50% of your bone volume and 30% of its mass.

Seafood like salmon with bones and sardines are a good source of calcium. Calcium is the essential mineral needed to build bone. Calcium cannot be absorbed properly by your body without vitamin D. Seafood is a great source of this Vitamin D.

Other bone promoting properties that seafood includes, is vitamin A, and minerals like iodine, phosphorus, zinc, and selenium.

The evidence for including seafood in your weekly diet is clear. Research suggests meeting the recommended three serves of seafood weekly for optimal bone density maintenance.

If you are stuck for seafood recipe inspiration t strengthen your bones, here are some ideas your taste buds and bones will love:

Tuna chop salad on Turkish breadSardines on toast
Tuna chop salad on Turkish breadSardines on toast

 

Hassel BackCreamy salmon spirals
salmon hasselback potato pieCreamy Salmon Spirals

 

Take home message

The strength of your bones is like having a well-built house with strong walls. Keep your bones strong to be able to move how you want and protect your precious organs. Safcol Seafood is one key food to include in your diet to optimise your bone health for life.

Not only is Safcol the Seafood Experts tuna lunchbox friendly, but it also tastes delicious, and boasts some amazing health benefits! Tuna contains Omega-3 fats that are an unsaturated form of fat called polyunsaturated. These types of fats cannot be made by the body, so we need to include them as part of our diet to stay healthy. For good health, you need omega-3 fats in our diet, particularly the type which comes from fish and seafood because it contains two acids known as docosahexaenoic acid or DHA and eicosapentaenoic acid or EPA. These two acids are linked to better health for your body particularly for your brain and heart.

References:

  1. Farina EK, Kiel DP, Roubenoff R, Schaefer EJ, Cupples LA, Tucker KL. Protective effects of fish intake and interactive effects of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid intakes on hip bone mineral density in older adults: the Framingham Osteoporosis Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 May;93(5):1142-51. doi:
  2. Longo AB, Ward WE. PUFAs, Bone Mineral Density, and Fragility Fracture: Findings from Human Studies. Adv Nutr. 2016 Mar 15;7(2):299-312. doi: 10.3945/an.115.009472. PMID: 26980813; PMCID: PMC4785467.
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