A healthy and strong skeletal system with healthy joints is a vital ingredient in achieving an active and fulfilling life. Joints serve as connections between bones and allow you to perform such activities as walking, standing, bending, wiggling, turning, and waving. Maintaining proper joint health has become a top priority for many Americans. As we get older, we get more susceptible to degenerative joint conditions such as Arthritis and Osteoarthritis. Here are some suggestions for maintaining healthy joints that incorporate both traditional methods such as diet and exercise as well as alternative ideas that focus on antioxidants and supplements.

Below you will find some helpful tips that can be used to help build and maintain healthy and strong bone joints:

1)     Maintain a healthy weight:  Watching your weight is one of the best things you can do to preserve your joints.  Keeping your weight at the recommended level will aid in preventing small tears that break down cartilage. This also relieves your body of any excess pressure put on your joints by carrying around more weight than the body was designed to. Start by consulting your physician or a nutritional consultant to see what your ideal weight should be and develop a safe and healthy plan to reach your goal.

2)    Exercise:  Working out helps to reduce stiffness in the joints.  According to experts, successful exercise regimens include both low impact aerobic exercises mixed with strength training.  In addition, it is imperative that you properly stretch prior to beginning any exercise program as this will help your joints to retain flexibility and greater range of motion.

3)    Know your limits:  Although exercise can be extremely beneficial to one’s health, certain exercises and physical activities may be too tough for your joints to handle.  While you will likely experience some pain after working out, any soreness lasting longer than 48 hours is likely a sign that you have over exerted yourself and need to take it easier next time. This pain may be a sign that you have overstressed your joints, and working through it may lead to injury.

4)    Eat a healthy and well-balanced diet:  A well-balanced diet provides enough energy and nutrition for optimal growth and development.  The term “balanced” simply means that a diet meets your nutritional needs while not providing too much of any nutrients.  To achieve a balanced diet, you must eat a variety of foods from each food group.

5)    Investigate joint supplements:  There is not a shortage of joint supplements available on today’s market.  The best joint supplements contain a good blend of vitamins and minerals along with high levels of antioxidants. Exercise caution and patience when selecting both the supplement and brand, as many have fallen very short of the claims made by their respective labels.  Many popular supplements such as Glucosamine have fallen short of their claims in clinical studies. Many experts are now suggesting that joint support supplements that contain fruits and vegetables are more likely to be useful to the body that synthetic compounds. You may want to take the time to review some joint supplement reviews so you can draw on the experience of others and see which products are likely to yield positive results.