Bone Health and Longevity = Common Sense

From The Top 10 Health Breakthroughs of 2008:

Bones can no longer be thought of only in terms of fracture risk and osteoporosis. Bones are constantly giving birth to new cells and these cells play vital roles in metabolism and immunity. For example, when bone cells get inflamed not only does this promote excess bone loss it directly causes fat cells to multiply in white adipose tissue – which clearly [does it?] explains why women gain weight after menopause as well as the key to stopping the problem.

The highlight study of the year [2008] was a detailed gene analysis performed on one of the world's healthiest older men (he was 113 at the time, recently passing away at 114). Researchers expected to find genetic advantages enabling him to live a long life. Much to their surprise, he didn't have any "better genes" at all – he had better bones! And the reason he had better bones was because he ate a diet containing fresh fruit and vegetables (bone anti-inflammatory nutrients) and stayed very active (stimulating bone health).

Ah, the fun territory of causation/correlation. I'm not going to claim that the reason the guy had better bones was entirely because of his diet and active lifestyle, but I'm sure that his activity level and lifestyle are indicative of a mind wired for longevity. Hmmm. Perhaps that's the bigger stretch of a claim to make, hah:

"People don't age because they get older, they age because they stop doing the things and thinking the thoughts that keep them young and engaged in life." Or something like that.

Ten Ways to Strengthen Bones

Bone-Building Foods

Bone Health and Osteoporosis: A Report of the Surgeon General. Part Three: What Can Individuals Do To Improve Their Bone Health?

(Like anyone is going to read those links...)

There are online food fights about which foods are intrinsically good for you and what foods inhibit the body's natural ability to function optimally, but most agree that exercise, sunlight, fresh fruits and veggies and good times with friends make for a healthy life. From my experience, it's not what I eat that matters as much as what I don't eat -- when I don't overeat or poison my body, I feel better. Kind of like how homework isn't necessarily good for you, but it's better than driving around drunk at 16. Okay, poor analogy. But you get my point, right? Good. [edit: I wrote this at 3am last night. I'm happy that it somewhat makes sense.]