Tag Archives: international osteoporosis foundation

May 19, 2014 · 6:17 am

What Can I Do To Prevent Osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a debilitating disease that affects the entire world population. The International Osteoporosis Foundation reports:

•   Worldwide, osteoporosis causes more than 8.9 million fractures annually, resulting in an osteoporotic fracture every 3 seconds.
•   Osteoporosis is estimated to affect 200 million women worldwide – approximately one-tenth of women aged 60, one-fifth of women aged 70, two-fifths of women aged 80 and two-thirds of women aged 90.
•   Osteoporosis affects an estimated 75 million people in Europe, USA and Japan.

“Men don’t suffer from osteoporosis as often as women, but they are indeed vulnerable. The International Osteoporosis Foundation says that the lifetime risk of experiencing an osteoporotic fracture in men over the age of 50 is 30%, similar to the lifetime risk of developing prostate cancer.” That quote is from my post Are men vulnerable to osteoporosis as well as women?

Here are some steps you can take to prevent osteoporisis:

1. Calcium and Vitamin D are key. These minerals build strong, dense bones.

2. Exercise regularly. You need to do weight-bearing and muscle-strengthening exercise. Walking, dancing and running all help to build strong bones.

3. Eat fruits and veggies that have potassium and magnesium to help neutralize the acids that draw minerals out of the bones.

4. Quit smoking and reduce alcohol consumption.

To read further on this disease, check out the following posts:

What are Some foods to protect against Osteoporosis?

An Early Sign of Osteoporosis?

How to Beat Osteoporosis – Harvard

Is walking as effective as running?

Tony

What are some foods to protect against osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a debilitating disease that affects the entire world population. The International Osteoporosis Foundation reports:

Sardines are an excellent source of calcium to help fight osteoporosis

Some men think osteoporosis affects only women, but they are wrong. “Men don’t suffer from osteoporosis as often as women, but they are indeed vulnerable. The International Osteoporosis Foundation says that the lifetime risk of experiencing an osteoporotic fracture in men over the age of 50 is 30%, similar to the lifetime risk of developing prostate cancer.” That quote is from my post Are men vulnerable to osteoporosis as well as women?

WebMD has a very useful slideshow on the subject of dietary weapons to protect your bones.

“An excellent source of calcium is sardines. All those little fish bones have just what you need to build strong bone mass in your own body. Eating three ounces of canned sardines delivers a little more calcium than a cup of milk,” according to the slideshow.

Click on the slideshow link to read all 13 slides.

I was happy to see that they finished with a slide on weight-bearing exercise even though it isn’t dietary. The maxim use it or lose it applies to bones, too. Weight-bearing exercise is crucial to strong bones. Anything that uses the weight of the body or outside weights to work the bones and muscles counts. This causes your body to create new bone material and they produce more bone density. Dancing, walking and stair climbing all come to mind as good weight bearing exercises.

I often conclude with eat less; move more, but this time I think eat smart; move more fits better.

Check out these posts to read further on osteoporosis: What is a new weapon against osteoporosis? What is an early sign of osteoporosis?, How to beat osteoporosis – Harvard, Cycling pros have increased risk of osteoporosis.

Tony

Practice Strength Training for Bones as well as Muscles – Harvard

Men don’t suffer from osteoporosis as often as women, but they are indeed vulnerable. The International Osteoporosis Foundation says that the lifetime risk of experiencing an osteoporotic fracture in men over the age of 50 is 30%, similar to the lifetime risk of developing prostate cancer.

Harvard HealthBeat said, “Most of us know that strength training (with free weights, weight machines, or resistance bands) can help build and maintain muscle mass and strength. What many of us don’t know is that strong muscles lead to strong bones. And strong bones can help minimize the risk of fracture due to osteoporosis.

A combination of age-related changes, inactivity, and poor nutrition conspire to steal bone mass at the rate of 1% per year after age 40. As bones grow more fragile and susceptible to fracture, they are more likely to break after even a minor fall or a far less obvious stress, such as bending over to tie a shoelace. Continue reading →