Fractured A Bone? Avoid These Food Ingredients To Heal Faster

If you have a fractured bone, then you probably know that you should eat things like leafy greens, sardines, dairy products and others. These foods are hailed for their high calcium content that aid in bone healing. However, did you know that some ingredients in your diet can also delay your healing? Here are three examples:

Alcohol

Alcohol lowers your body's ability to replaced lost bone, and it can actually hinder your body from absorbing bone-building nutrients, such as calcium, from your bloodstream. Thus, the mineral will be there in your blood, but your body will be unable to use it to strengthen your bones.

If you have to drink, you should:

• Choose drinks low in alcohol content. The good news is that there are wines and beers with low alcohol volumes that taste just as good as those with high alcohol volume.
• Take alternative drinks such as water and tea.
• Drink in moderation.

Salt

Salt contains sodium, which your kidneys extract from your body and excrete as part of your urine to maintain optimal mineral balance. If you increase your salt intake, then your body will increase its sodium excretion too.

The problem is that your kidneys will increase their rate of excretion of other minerals too, which include calcium. Therefore, you should go slow on those canned soups, pizza, fries and other foods with high salt content.

Hydrogenated Oils

Lastly, you should also be wary of hydrogenated oils. These are liquid oils that have been solidified by adding hydrogen. So why are these oils dangerous? Well, the process of hydrogenation destroys vitamin K, which occurs naturally in vegetable oils. This is bad because it is the vitamin that holds the minerals essential for bone formation; in a sense, vitamin K acts as a glue for other minerals such as calcium.

If you are cooking at home, then you should buy liquid oils because hydrogenated oils are usually solids at room temperature. For takeouts, it is normally difficult to tell because many of them are cooked with hydrogenated oils. This is mainly because these hydrogenated oils increase shelf life of foods without destroying their flavor. It also helps to eat a lot of leafy greens because they are rich in the vitamin.

Avoiding these foods will help you in your quest to heal faster. However, the main thing is to consult an orthopedic at places like Burlington County Orthopaedic Specialist Pa and follow his or her advice closely. Avoiding "bad" foods or eating the "right" foods are just part of the measures you take to heal, they shouldn't be the only ones.