No one wants to live a life filled with the fear that a slight fall or bump might snap a bone in two but this is what Osteoporosis can do to you. It makes sense then that you want to find out as early as possible an Osteoporosis symptom, some sign of Osteoporosis or hint so you can maybe counter it or seek medical advice.

Unfortunately for us there is no symptom or sign of this disease until your doctor tells you! However there IS one sign that you may be on your way to getting this terrible disease and it has nothing to do with your bones at first glance.

What did you eat in the last week? What are your general dietary habits? Lots of meat? Heaps of processed and salty foods? Soft drinks? Do you exercise? If you do do you do any weight based training? Do you smoke or drink to excess?

We have just found our symptoms right there! Osteoporosis is not some disease caused by genetics it is a condition we in the western world in particular bring upon ourselves with our lifestyle and eating habits!

You see bone is constantly being renewed in a cycle where cells called osteoclasts seek through bone finding old parts and destroying them leaving an empty space, this space in turn is sought out by cells called osetoblasts which then refill the space with new healthy bone. Osteoporosis is caused by there being too many gaps for the osteoblasts to fill leaving a honeycomb of bone that is weak and fragile and prone to breakages.

So how does our diet and lifestyle influence this you ask? Blood. When our blood becomes too acidic which is very easy with high protein diets especially it starts to strip calcium away from the bone to balance the bloods acid levels, however this calcium is not deposited back into the bone.

“Hey wait! I drink heaps of milk and eat lots of dairy food I should have lots of calcium!”. Nice try but unfortunately dairy products also increase the acidity of your blood making the gain from dairy on its own negligible.

Weight based training also helps the body promote healthy bones and muscles around those bones and should not be overlooked!

So when you want to check for some sign of Osteoporosis remember it is your lifestyle that will determine this condition. There is no other Osteoporosis symptom!



Thanks to Michael Porteous for contributing this article to our Osteoporosis blog:

Drug Therapy For Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a bone disease. It is virtually a disease on account of which the bones generally become fragile and weak. Osteoporosis if not taken proper care of lead may to the breakage of the bones thus leading to a fracture. Osteoporosis generally is found to be very much typical in certain parts of the body, say for instance in the hips, wrists, spinal cord and also in the vertebras. Osteoporosis is like a silent killer which attacks an individual without prior symptoms.

Simply a sneezing, a tight hug, stepping, bending down to get something can cause Osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is also known by another name called “porous bone.” There are certain factors which are associated with Osteoporosis. These factors are termed as “Risk Factors.” Some of the factors are as mentioned below:

• Gender: Sex plays a major concern in the occurrence of Osteoporosis. Females have a more probability of being attacked with Osteoporosis than the male generation. Sometimes Osteoporosis is also related with menopause. Osteoporosis is estimated to have been attacking the women folk as and when they reach the stage of menopause. Thus when a woman reaches the age of around 45 years and when she is attacked with menopause that is when she experiences the stoppage of menstruation, the velocity of Osteoporosis is found to be more.

• Age: Age is yet another risk factor of Osteoporosis. The more a person advances in age, the more is the risk of being attacked with Osteoporosis. It is generally during the old age that the bones become very much weak and fragile and thus they are prone to get attacked with Osteoporosis.

• Body dimensions: Women with thin and lean body physique have more the chance of being attacked with Osteoporosis.

• Ethnicity: Ethnicity plays a major role in respect of Osteoporosis. Here we can state that Asian as well as the Caucasian women folk has a high risk of Osteoporosis then when compared to American, African and Latin women.

• Hereditary: Family history is also adversely related with Osteoporosis. Present generation whose fore-fathers suffered from Osteoporosis, has more risk of Osteoporosis.

Besides these, anorexia, certain medications, smoking of cigarette, excessive drinking of alcohol and also maintenance of a low lifetime diet with less amount of vitamin D and calcium also causes Osteoporosis.

As it is always said that prevention is better then cure, thus Osteoporosis can also be prevented by undertaking certain precautions in the early stage of one’s development. As the demand of calcium is found to be very high in the growing stage of one’s development, thus a good amount of calcium products should be undertaken from the early developmental stages. Inadequacy of calcium in one’s body has a greater prospect to be affected by Osteoporosis. So it is always advisable to undertake certain calcium products in one’s diet like yogurt, milk, cheese, ice cream, green and leafy vegetables, like broccoli, spinach etc, fish like salmon and sardines, dry fruits like almonds, juices and squash etc. Thus according to the different stages of one’s development right from the stage of infancy to old age, the intake of calcium should be adjusted accordingly in order to prevent Osteoporosis.



Thanks to Farzina Naznin for contributing this article to our Osteoporosis blog:

Have you claimed your Genesis site?

Osteoporosis is normally referred to as the Silent thief because of the high prevalence rates of more common diseases like AIDS and Diabetes while on the other hand most people tend to ignore other diseases that are equally important in our lives such as osteoporosis. Since this disease is mostly related to the old age, most people in youthful ages forget the fact that such disease can be prevented early in life by following simple steps.

Commonly known as a silent thief, Osteoporosis is a disease that clinically manifests itself by loss of bone tissue and low bone mass that may lead to weak and fragile bones. Since most people still believe that this is a disease of the old, they should realize that the damage from osteoporosis begins much earlier in life. Because peak bone density is reached at approximately 25 years of age, it is important for us to build strong bones by that age so as to reduce that risk and ensure that the bones remain stronger later in life.

The disease is often known as “a silent thief” because it is asymptomatic and a person will incur a fracture before realizing the presence of the disease. By the time of fracture, the disease is always in and advance stage with serious damage on the body tissues.

Even though latest research on Osteoporosis indicates that it’s largely caused by lack of certain hormones, particularly estrogen in women and androgen in man, I believe it is caused by personal negligence for life. Following a simple four way step is the perfect remedy for the disease. These are:-

Being physically active and this includes weight- bearing exercises.

Having a well balanced diet that is rich in calcium and vitamin D.

Leading a healthy life style devoid of smoking or excessive alcohol intake.

Checking bone density regularly and taking proper action.

Statistics on this disease is very astonishing and it’s important for various governments to initiate various sensitization modalities to curb this disease. In the United States alone, about 10 million people have osteoporosis. Another 18 million people have low bone mass which is an indication of immediate osteoporosis. Eighty percent of osteoporosis victims are women and among people older than 50 years, 1 in 2 women and 1 in 8 men are predicted to have an osteoporosis in their lifetime.

The cost of osteoporosis is enormous and simple precautions will save our economy billions of dollars. According to National Osteoporosis Foundation, in 2004 $ 17 billion was directly spent on osteoporosis while annually, the cost of osteoporosis in $ 14 billion. By initiating a global awareness of this disease and promoting the four basic steps, Osteoporosis in will be written in history books as a disease of the past.



Thanks to Joseph Nyamache for contributing this article to our Osteoporosis blog:

Exercises To Prevent Osteoporosis

If you do not know, osteoporosis is a disease that actually weakens your bones. This can cause a lot of bad health problems as you can guess. Things like fragile bones can make them a lot easier to break. However, osteoporosis is not a disease that you have to live with. In fact, this is a health problem that can be prevented and treated very easily.

If you have osteoporosis and you let it go untreated, then you are going to end up with weakened bones that will break. Today we are going to talk about a few guidelines that women can use to help prevent osteoporosis. After all, as women age they are the most likely to get osteoporosis, and thus, they have to know how to treat it.

The first thing that you should already know is that you need to avoid a diet that is low in calcium and other minerals that your body needs. Of course, you also need to go with a reduction in other things. For example, you will need a reduction in natural hydrochloric acid in the stomach. That is because it will just accelerate the osteoporosis process in both men and women.

The other minerals that you will need to include in your diet will come as no shock to anyone. You will need certain vitamins like C, D, E, and, of course, K. However, that does not mean that you can forget about things like magnesium and phosphorus. You will have to make sure that your body is also getting enough silicon and iron. This goes for manganese, zinc and copper as well.

A few other things that you should cut out of your diet to help protect yourself from getting osteoporosis are things like soft drinks. Although you do not have to cut them all out, they can actually lower the calcium levels in your body. They do this by blocking the calcium from being absorbed by your body. This may also help you cut down on the amount of caffeine you take in.

Whenever you drink a lot of caffeine, this actually increases the urinary excretion of the calcium in your body. Although some people do not like to hear this either, you should try not to drink alcohol or smoke. Both of these can cause negative calcium balances in your body. Pretty much, the balance means that you are losing more calcium than your body is taking in.

Things like excess salt and, of course, sugar are not good for you either. They aid in the depletion of calcium that is stored in your body. Cutting down on these kinds of things can help you. Overall, just be sure that you know the overall goal that you need to reach as far as the amount of calcium you need in your body. It is better to have an overall goal as to how much calcium you need in your body than just to go into it blind. Remember that having too much calcium in your body is no good either. Both of these extremes are bad.



Thanks to James S. Pendergraft for contributing this article to our Osteoporosis blog:

Osteoporosis Bone Density