Maggie McKay (Host): Welcome to Health Talk presented by the Valley Health System. I'm your host, Maggie McKay. Joining us today is Dr. Tricia Murphy, board-certified in internal medicine and geriatrics and associate program director of the Internal Medicine Residency at Spring Valley Hospital. Hospital to discuss the importance of bone health and how we can enhance it through nutrition, weight-bearing exercises and more.

Thank you so much for joining us today, Dr. Murphy.

Dr Tricia Murphy: Happy to be here.

Maggie McKay (Host): Well, let's just start with, why is bone health so vital for our overall wellbeing?

Dr Tricia Murphy: So bone health is important because as we get older, we start losing bone And the more fragile our bones get, the more at-risk of developing bone crackers. We are

Maggie McKay (Host): So what are some red flags or symptoms that we should be aware of regarding bone health? What should we be looking out for?

Dr Tricia Murphy: There are no red flags, no symptoms associated with a decreasing bone health as we ate. Most of the people are not aware that they're losing bone prints and they are at-risk of developing bone fracture without knowing it.

Maggie McKay (Host): So what role does nutrition play, if any, when you know, trying to maintain strong bones?

Dr Tricia Murphy: the importance is that, we develop our bones throughout our lives and our depict bone strength is developed around the age of 30. So as we are growing up, we should be, promoting bone through exercise and nutrition. Especially supplementing with calcium and vitamin D because that's what's gonna build up our bones, throughout our lives.

After the age of 30, we start losing bone strengths. So whatever we do in our lives, it has to be, a lifelong decision.

Maggie McKay (Host): Wow. At at the age of 30 we start losing. I cannot believe it. That's so early. are there specific foods that are especially beneficial for bone health?

Dr Tricia Murphy: Yes. Milk related products are the most important. For example, just regular milk, yogurt, cheese. There are certain, fish like sardines or salmons that are reaching calcium and are beneficial for the individual to eat on regular basis. There are certain ve. Like, kale, broccoli, that are reaching calcium that are also beneficial.

Some, beverages are already fortified with calcium, such as, soy milk, almond milk. certain cereals are also for five with calcium. and grains and pastas, even though they don't have a lot of, calcium in it, their fortified will calcium regularly. In addition to calcium, we're looking for food that contain vitamin D and most of the time, They're not intrinsically rich with.

Vitamin D. So they're mostly supplemented with vitamin D, but fatty fish is like cr salmon, tuna, mackerel, they're rich in vitamin D. beef, liver, egg joke, are also reaching vitamin D, some mushrooms and milk. It's also 45 with vitamin D, like toy milk, caramel milk, and milk.

Maggie McKay (Host): Let's talk about weightlifting. Does that contribute to strengthening bones?

Dr Tricia Murphy: yes, definitely. Yes. The weightlifting help presenting the bone and they usually recommended exercise is to three days a week and doing repetitions. About five to 12 repetitions per set, and those sets should include at least three areas of major muscles.

Maggie McKay (Host): So what advice would you have for someone just starting out with weight bearing exercises? Like how heavy should the weights be to start?

Dr Tricia Murphy: To start The weight bearing exercises can be just walking. You can do jogging, you can do start climbing, you can do cycling, you can do stepping. So you don't necessarily need to add weight to begin with. When you're doing weight bearing exercises, you can start adding weight as the more into the exercise you get.

your body's gonna get adjusted to your current level of exercise, And then you can continue to progress. As your body tolerates it,

Maggie McKay (Host): So you mentioned age affecting bone density and health of course. so if we eat, you know, what you mentioned before and lift weights or do weight bearing exercises, which is I think using your own weight, is that what you're saying?

Dr Tricia Murphy: That is correct. You can use your own weight with exercises, like I mentioned, like, walking, even t dancing, jogging,

Maggie McKay (Host): so what about one's medical history or their family history? Does that play a part in bone health? Like if your mom had osteoporosis, are you definitely gonna get it?

Dr Tricia Murphy: there is an increased risk having a family history of bone fracture, especially hip fracture. So if your mother or even your father, if they had a bone fracture associated with osteoporosis. You're at increased risk for having OSI yourself

Maggie McKay (Host): So these are really important tips to know if you do have family history of some sort. Are there any recent advancements in the field of bone health that you're excited about?

Dr Tricia Murphy: in the pill of bone health. The most important thing is that. I think the take-home message is that This is a lifelong commitment that you have to do with your bone health. So, lifestyle exercises, nutrition, are the most important factors in bone health for maintaining your bone strength.

Maggie McKay (Host): In closing, is there anything else you'd like to add?

Dr Tricia Murphy: Well, in closing, I would like to say that the best way to maintain bone health is, to maintain a good adequate intake of vitamins D and calcium. Also, let alone participation in exercises. That could be weighting exercises, resistance exercises. the use of weight, and balance exercises to improve your balance to prevent falls is very important.

Another thing that I failed to mention earlier was, people that are, at increased risk for osteoporosis are those that, are currently smokers. And that do drink excess alcohol, So, It is recommended for us to call back in smoking and alcohol itself.

Maggie McKay (Host): Wow. I never knew that. That's another good piece of information. Thank you so much for being here today and sharing your expertise. That was so informative.

Dr Tricia Murphy: Thank you very much.

Maggie McKay (Host): Again, that's Dr. Tricia Murphy. To learn more, please visit valley health system lv.com. If you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and check out our entire podcast library. For topics of interest to you, I'm Maggie McKay. Thank you for listening to Health Talk presented by the Valley Health System.

Physicians

are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of the Valley Health System. The system shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians.