As I approach 50, I've become acutely aware that if I want to play the longevity game, I need to stop simply listening to expert advice and start putting it into practice to protect my body.
Easier said than done, when taking on board all the expert tips I hear daily feels like a full-time job in itself – who has time for collagen banking, weight training, adding more protein to my diet, taking vitamin D, and so on?
One element of midlife wellness that consistently emerges is bone health - and it made me sit up and listen.
Bone health in midlife
I had heard of osteoporosis in the past, but my younger self had put it down to being an 'old woman thing' and thought nothing else of it. But I have since learnt that if I had started weight training between the ages of 20 and 30, I would have given my body the best start in staving off the bone condition.
© Getty ImagesWhat is osteoporosis?
The condition was once known as brittle bone disease and makes the body more prone to fractures, which can be more painful and more difficult to heal as we age.
Women are more prone to osteoporosis than men, thanks to menopause sucking out the mineral that helps with bone density, and the fact we have smaller bones, but it can also be caused by genetics and our lifestyle.
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And as a 'silent' disease that doesn't present any pain unless there is a fracture, you might not know you have osteoporosis until it is too late, which slightly terrified me.
One day I could be high kicking around a kitchen disco and the next I might not be able to get off the sofa on my own without the fear of snapping a bone.
Reversing osteoporosis
I was shocked to discover that from the age of 35, our bone density starts to decrease, and if we don’t do anything about it, it could potentially develop into osteoporosis. But the good news? If we catch it early enough during the osteopenia stage, there are ways we can reverse it.
Checking bone density
The best way to check your risk of osteoporosis is via a DEXA Scan, which measures bone density. You can ask your GP for a referral, or you can go through private providers such as BodyView, where I booked a scan that cost £189.
Their centres have state-of-the-art scanning devices and software that can also test for body fat and muscle mass with previous clients including Hollywood stars, F1 legends and Olympic medal holders, so I knew I was in safe hands.
© Getty ImagesMy bone density scan
My experts on the day, Jenna and Jack, were full of knowledge and reassured me as they talked through what was going to happen during my bone density scan.
X-rays are taken of your hip, the point where the bone is the most porous, along with the spine, focusing on the lumbar to assess the bone mineral density, crucial for diagnosing osteoporosis and predicting fractures, as these are the areas you are most likely to suffer a fracture.
After taking off my jewellery and changing into loose clothes, I lay down on my back on the bed, my legs resting over a block and closed my eyes. The scan is painless and gives off less radiation than eating 11 bananas, I am assured, for anyone who is concerned about that kind of stuff. And it was so quick, I questioned if they had managed to get everything or if they needed to do it again
My results
The BodyCompPro software converted the science results quickly and the guys sat me down to talk through the results.
As my X-ray results pop up on the screen, Jenna points to my bones alongside clear colourful graphs and stats and explains my T-score - how your bone density compares to the optimal peak bone density of a 25-year-old.
"This is you in all your glory, Danielle. These are fantastic results," she says, as I patted my legs well done for doing their job. "I'd say you have bones of around a 25-year-old, you just need to keep it up with strength training, vitamin D and K and lots of protein. You should have a sigh of relief - you are doing great."
On the chart, some way below my youthful bones, are the osteopenia and osteoporosis zones.
"The good thing about checking your bones from when you are in your 40s is if you are showing signs of osteopenia, there are things you can do to try and reverse it before it is too late.
"It is a bit like being pre-diabetic and changing your diet and exercise to manage it before it becomes serious," Jenna says. And it can become serious. She tells me to Google the mortality figures for elderly patients who break a hip. Astonishingly, over 7.5 per cent of patients die in the first month, according to figures from the British Geriatrics Society.
"Prevention is what we are trying to achieve," said Jenna. "If we can take control and be proactive for our own health, we are going to do ourselves a huge favour in the long run. If we did regular screening, we could save a lot of people the agony of breaking a hip, and save the NHS a lot of money."
To help you preserve your bone health, Jenna reveals her expert tips…
Protecting your bones in midlife
1. Weight training
"Lifting weights is so useful for the body. I make a point of telling any customer in their 20s that now is the time to start weight training.
© Poberezhna"Around the ages of 30 and 40, there is a plateau and generally you lose and add bone density at the same rate, but at 40 onwards you lose it a little bit quicker, so you have to actively work to lay down that mineral bone density.
"Look for workouts that draw blood up through the bones such as brisk walking, ideally with a weighted rucksack, running and weight training."
2. Vitamin D and vitamin K3
"These are supplements that promote good bone health. We don’t get enough vitamin D from the sun, so that is why they are quite important."
© Getty Images3. Calcium
"Back in the day, kids would have milk in schools but that doesn't happen anymore. There are also more people on dairy-free, or vegan diets, so the calcium intake is not quite as it would be, so it is good to top up."
4. Protein
"Protein helps preserve bone and muscle mass with ageing. The best way to get protein is naturally through your diet if you eat meat, beans and eggs."
5. Get checked every two years
"Your bone turnover is every three years so it is good to have regular DEXA scans to check you are on the right track.
"If you are on the low side, I would suggest taking up strength training, doing some brisk walking, starting a supplement routine and coming back in two years to see how you are getting on."
