Let’s take a moment and think about your day. Maybe you got out of bed and made yourself breakfast. Or perhaps you went on a jog. Whether you were active, or decided to stay home and take it easy, everything you do is thanks to your bones! Bones support our bodies in many ways, so it’s important we keep them healthy and strong. While we often attribute calcium and vitamin D to bone health, zinc is one of the many minerals that helps keep our bones in tip-top condition! It plays an important role in our bones’ lifecycle of rebuilding and strengthening.

Let’s break down the importance of bone health and zinc’s role in keeping our bones healthy.

Why is bone health important?

We use our bones every day with every movement we make, whether we’re standing, walking, sitting or lying down. Our bones give our body structure and allow us to keep moving throughout life. But beyond what we see on the surface, our bones are also responsible for many tasks inside the body. When there’s an excess of minerals in the body, the inner layer, also known as the spongy bone, stores these minerals until the body is ready to use them. Our bones are also in charge of protecting our organs, like the heart, brain and lungs, from any injuries with structures like the skull and ribs.

Bone health and aging

As we grow older, we become more susceptible to osteoporosis, a condition that occurs when our bones become thinner and less dense. When this happens, it can become difficult to continue doing the activities we love. Symptoms of low bone density or osteoporosis can include back pain, loss of height and poor posture. As our muscle mass, vision and perception begin to change with age, it’s natural that the risk of falls increases as well.

Since matters related to your bone health tend to be silent until a fracture occurs, it’s essential to start taking care of your bones from an early age. Making regular visits to your healthcare practitioner along with bone density scans can help keep tabs on your bone health. The good news is that nutrients like zinc can help.

Why is zinc essential to bone health?

The body naturally remodels bone by removing the old ones to form new tissue, allowing our bones to be constantly strengthened and renewed. Zinc is an essential mineral involved in the many processes that help maintain bone health and promote bone regeneration. When we don’t get sufficient amounts of zinc, our bodies are unable to efficiently produce protein to maintain our bones’ integrity.

Bone formation

The body produces bone-forming proteins such as collagen, osteocalcin and alkaline phosphatase, which require zinc for synthesis. Zinc is vital to creating the bone’s primary protein, collagen, which is an essential component of bone development and mineralization. Osteocalcin and alkaline phosphatase are proteins that are part of a process called bone mineralization. When we don’t get enough zinc, it can lead to malformations or structural abnormalities.

Bone mineralization

Bone mineralization is the process of depositing minerals, like calcium and phosphate, in the bone’s matrix to support bone development and strength. Zinc activates alkaline phosphatase, along with osteocalcin, and increases its activity to allow these proteins to perform their duties. By activating these minerals, they help create hard tissue to increase the size and strength of our bones.

Bone metabolism

Bone metabolism refers to bone formation and resorption, a process that lasts throughout our lifespan. There are three types of bone cells that maintain our bones’ integrity and tissue:

• Osteoblasts: Also known as immature bone cells, osteoblasts form bones or help your existing bones grow. They can be found on the inner or outer surface of the bone. Once these cells harden, they turn into osteocytes.
• Osteocytes: These mature bone cells make up 90-95% of all our bone cells. They control the amount of minerals and proteins in the bones and if there’s damage to the bone, they signal the other cells for repair.
• Osteoclasts: These cells are in charge of bone resorption. They break down old or damaged bone cells for the body to absorb and allow new bone tissue to grow.

Zinc contributes to osteoblast activity, which helps promote bone formation. Meanwhile, osteoclasts do the opposite and degrade bones instead. While bone resorption allows our bones to be renewed to keep them in good shape, overactive osteoclasts can potentially cause osteoporosis. When osteoclasts break down bones faster than the new tissue can grow, it can result in our bones weakening. Zinc helps inhibit osteoclasts' activity which supports a healthy rate of resorption.

Hydroxyapatite formation

Hydroxyapatite is a mineral primarily made up of calcium and phosphorus. It’s one of the fundamental minerals of bones and teeth, which is why our teeth can be a good indicator of our bone health as well. During hydroxyapatite formation, zinc helps regulate the size and shape of hydroxyapatite crystals. These crystals are shaped like plates or needles and approximately 40-60 nanometers long. Their shape and size influence the arrangement of hydroxyapatite crystals, which determine the stability and density of the bones. By consuming adequate levels of zinc to support the formation of these crystals, it improves the strength and density of our bones.

Bone density and mass

Bone mineral density (BMD) is the measurement of mineral content in your bones. The more minerals there are, the stronger and denser your bones are. To ensure your bones are in good condition, there are bone density tests that show how much of certain bone minerals are stored in one bone segment. These tests are often done to determine the risk of fractures and monitor for osteoporosis.

Studies have shown that raising zinc intake can increase BMD for elderly patients who are deficient in zinc and have osteoporosis. No matter the age, consuming adequate amounts of zinc can help improve bone mineral density.

How to increase zinc intake

Some of the richest sources of zinc are animal and seafood products, such as beef, oysters, chickpeas and cashews.

If you’re finding it difficult to incorporate zinc-rich foods into your diet, CanPrev’s Zinc Bis-glycinate 25 offers 25mg of highly absorbable zinc per capsule. If you’re looking for a higher dose, Zinc Bis-glycinate 50 offers 50mg of zinc that remains gentle on the stomach.

It’s important to closely monitor our bone health and ensure our body gets nutrients, like zinc, to stay strong! By keeping our bones healthy, we can continue to move freely and do the things we love.