Osteoporosis is a disease of the skeleton in which the amount of calcium
present in the bones slowly decreases to the point where the bones become
brittle and prone to fracture. Women are more at risk than men. 80% of the
more than 42 millon Americans who have osteoporosis are women. You could be
at risk.
The following was culled from CNN"s health webpage. Read on.
God Bless and Peace Be Upon All
Alasana Bah
>WASHINGTON (AP) -- To Miriam Nelson, strength is more than muscle. It
>reaches
>right to the bone.
>
>The exercise researcher at Tufts University is on a crusade to fight
>osteoporosis, especially in women. The devastation of the brittle bone
>disease can be controlled or prevented by exercise, diet and hormone
>treatment if women realize early enough that they are at risk, she said.
>
>But they first must realize that they are at risk, she said. And not some
>women. All women.
>
>"Are you at risk for osteoporosis? If you're a woman, the answer is yes,"
>Nelson wrote in her new book, "Strong Women, Strong Bones." About one of
>three women will go on to develop the disease, as well as about one in five
>men, she said.
>
>In women, osteoporosis worsens after menopause, when production of the
>female
>hormone estrogen falls off. Among estrogen's functions is the fostering of
>bone density.
>
>But women can develop the condition far earlier, Nelson said. In doing
>research for her book, she was amazed at the number of women in their 20s,
>30s and 40s who had osteoporosis, she said in an interview.
>
>Certain factors raise the risk of developing osteoporosis. These include
>being tall and slender, having a family history of osteoporosis, and use of
>steroid medications for arthritis or asthma. Cigarette smoking and alcohol
>use also raise the risk.
>
>But women can reduce their risk by proper eating and exercise. A good diet
>includes sufficient calcium, a building block of bone.
>
>And good exercise includes weight training. Exercise stimulates the body to
>build stronger bones, and weight training is an important part of the
>program, Nelson said.
>
>"What I recommend is 2 to 3 days a week of strength training exercises,"
>Nelson said. "That's very important for targeting the bone." And even frail
>old women can benefit, but these women should see a doctor before they
>start,
>she said.
>
>For those capable of it, jumping is an excellent form of bone exercise,
>Nelson said. Basketball, for instance, exerts force on bone, and so leads
>to
>improvements, she said.
>
>Other forms of exercise can help by reducing the risks of falls, which can
>lead to crippling fractures in people with brittle bones. These include
>balance, stretching and aerobic activities.
>
>Paradoxically, however, too stringent a diet and exercise program can lead
>to
>bone loss, even in young women, said exercise physiologist Barbara
>Drinkwater
>of Pacific Medical Center, Seattle.
>
>Some athletes, and women with disorders such as anorexia, eat so little and
>burn so many calories that they virtually shut down their estrogen
>production, Drinkwater said. "They are hormonally postmenopausal, even if
>they are in their 20s," she said. If they have missed their periods for a
>year or more, they should realize they are at risk, she said.
>
>A bone density scan can spot trouble -- if a woman or teenager gets such a
>test. But because bone loss is a silent condition, these young people may
>not
>realize they have lost bone density until they fracture something,
>Drinkwater
>said.
>
>However, youth is when it's easiest to lay down strong bones, and good diet
>and exercise is the best program to do it, Drinkwater said. Those who max
>out
>their bone capacity while young build up a reservoir of strength that they
>can draw upon as they age, she said.
>
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