Following on from Vegan Society Dietitian Heather’s blog last year, we’ve teamed up with the Royal Osteoporosis Society (ROS) to make a video about how lifestyle choices can help us to look after our bones. We’ve asked Heather to tell us a bit about why and how the two charities have been collaborating to help support healthy living and bone health among people interested in vegan diets.
Important for everyone
This year, I’ve been working with Sarah Leyland – Clinical Advisor at the ROS. Sarah says, “osteoporosis affects 3.5 million people in the UK and it’s important for everyone to think about how we can help to keep our bones as healthy and strong as possible. We respect the decision to become vegan and want to help people get enough nutrients, especially calcium and protein, as well as considering other lifestyle factors.”
At The Vegan Society, we regularly receive queries about bone health and osteoporosis from members and supporters, so we know that this topic matters to you. Working with a specialist charity puts us in the best position to provide helpful and reliable guidance.
Expert guidance
Sarah has worked at the Royal Osteoporosis Charity for over 20 years, so she has a wealth of knowledge around bone health. In particular, I find Sarah’s tips about exercise really interesting. Bouldering at a climbing gym several times a week is one of my hobbies, so it’s great to know that the combination of weight-bearing with impact and muscle strengthening is helping to keep my bones strong whilst I’m having fun. I hope that everyone who watches our video will be able to identify their bone-friendly habits and take away new ideas.
Making the video
We wanted to involve followers of The Vegan Society in this project, so we asked for your questions about bone health. Using some of these questions, we’ve produced a video packed full of tips, which has been given pride of place on our bone health page.
Further information
I hope that you enjoy watching the new video. Further information about healthy vegan living is available on our health and nutrition pages. Also, the ROS offers lifestyle tips for supporting bone health, including exercise fact sheets and videos, and anyone can contact their free specialist nurse helpline for tailored information and support about bone health and osteoporosis: 0808 800 0035.
The views expressed by our bloggers are not necessarily the views of The Vegan Society.
