Check Your Bone Health, Prevent Osteoporosis

This World Osteoporosis Day, educate yourself about this 'silent killer'.

Osteoporosis causes bones to lose their density and become brittle. When young, bones are the strongest, but with age, this density gradually decreases, and this is especially more prevalent in women than men.

According to statistics, over the age of 50, one in two women is likely to have poor bone health, making her prone to fractures. Hormonal changes in women during menopause also affect this bone density and the drop in oestrogen levels can cause bones to be fragile. In men, the odds are higher; one for every five men. They risk osteoporosis when they have low levels of testosterone in the body; although for men testosterone is produced in old age also.

Things you need to know about this medical condition:

Is it in the genes?

Yes, it is likely that it is transferred through genes, but how exactly is not yet clear. Genes play an important role in bone mineral density, but which precise ones are responsible is still in question.

Nutritional diet

This is the most important way that one can make sure they have strong bones. A proper diet from childhood through adulthood is significant as it keeps the bone density up and does not lead to frequent fractures. Calcium is the main constituent of the bone and thus needs to be a part of the daily diet. Vitamin D is also an essential and hence consumption of Vitamin D-rich diet is advised.

How important is exercising?

Regular weight bearing and resistance exercises are great to keep your bone strong. Just a diet of calcium, vitamin D and other essentials is not enough to prevent you from getting osteoporosis, regular exercise is going to help you build a stronger body and bones that will especially help during the old age.

Are children likely to get osteoporosis?

Glucocorticoid steroids, brittle bone disease or immobility in a child can cause osteoporosis on rare occasions. If a child gets osteoporosis, it is mostly because he/she already had some bone-related problems beforehand.

Stress and osteoporosis

It is a proven fact that stress is bad for our body, because it wrecks our hormones and there is an imbalance in the system. Because hormones play a role in bone density, stress can actually be one of the causes of getting this condition.

So next time you feel your bones are weak, don't let it slide and get it checked instead. And skipping those nutritional meals is definitely a no-no on the list.

Feature Image Courtesy: YouTube