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Bones Are Not What You Think They Are
From the Office of the Surgeon General
When you think of bones, you might imagine a hard, brittle skeleton. In reality, your bones are living organs. They are alive with cells and flowing body fluids. Bones are constantly renewed and grow stronger with a good diet and physical activity.
The amount of calcium that makes up your bones is the measure of how
strong they are. But your muscles and nerves must also have calcium and
phosphorus to work. If these are in short supply from foods you eat,
your body simply takes them from your bones.
Each day calcium is deposited
and withdrawn from your bones.
If you don't get enough calcium,
you could be withdrawing more
than you're depositing. That's why
children and teens need to build
their bones early so they have
a "savings account" of calcium
for later. Our bodies build up
calcium in our bones efficiently
until we are about 30 years old.
Then our bodies stop adding new
bone. But healthy habits can help
us keep the bone we have.
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