It’s no secret that as we age, our bones and joints begin to lose their strength. Eventually, these changes can impact your mobility and stop you from enjoying some of the little things in life. This was once thought to be an inevitable part of growing older, but there are ways that you can slow down the impacts of ageing on your body.

So, what actually happens to our bones and joints as we get older?

Bones

Our bones are living tissue and as we age their structure changes. They lose calcium, other minerals, and collagen, making them less dense and less flexible and therefore vulnerable to fractures or breaks in the event of a bump or fall.

Bones weaken as we age for two main reasons:

• Changes in the level of the hormone estrogen.
  In women, this is triggered by menopause. For men, the decline in hormones is more gradual, but men can still be susceptible to the development of osteoporosis.
• An inactive lifestyle.
  Basically, if you don’t use it, the faster you can lose it.

Joints

All joints occur at the intersection of two separate bones. In most joints, the bones do not directly contact each other but are cushioned by cartilage and synovial fluid—a slippery liquid that lubricates the joints and delivers nutrients to the cartilage.  As we get older, cartilage begins to get thinner, synovial fluid decreases and our ligaments (which secure and move the joints) are prone to shorten and lose flexibility. This can lead to weakness in the joint, inflammation, pain, and stiffness.

Some of these age-related changes are caused by a lack of exercise. This is because synovial fluid is only circulated around the cartilage by movement. Moving your body also circulates blood (containing oxygen and nutrients) to the ligaments, maintaining their strength, which helps to keep the joints stable.

What you can do to help?

One of the best things you can do to help the health of your bones and joints is to get moving. Regular low-impact exercise, such as yoga, pilates or walking helps to slow the rate at which bone density reduces. Exercise also brings nutrients to the joints, by circulating blood to ligaments and synovial fluid to cartilage.

Maintaining a healthy weight and eating well also helps to ease the burden on your body that can be brought on by ageing. Taking dietary supplements—especially hydrolysed collagen—can also be effective as it provides your body with the fuel it needs to keep bones and joints healthy.

At Qt we have a way to help. Our unique range of Internal Cosmetics are made from active ingredients designed to help strengthen bones and joints. Here’s what Qt products can do for you:

Help to maintain bone strength:

• Collagen adds the flexibility to our bones that enables them to absorb normal wear and tear without breaking. Our products contain high quality marine and bovine hydrolysed collagen.
• The Tremella in our Internal Cosmetics has very high levels of vitamin D, which helps the body to absorb calcium.

Aid joint movement:

• Collagen has a jelly-like texture that covers the bones, helping them to move easily.
• Ligaments, which stabilise our joints, contain collagen. Supplementing collagen helps to maintain their strength and prevents wearing.