We always hear people saying that they have osteoporosis, mostly said by women but what is really osteoporosis? The word osteoporosis means porous bones thus, parts of the bones become hollow and its density decreases making the body more prone for fragility fractures. Most of the time, fragility fractures are so serious and have a high morbidity and mortality rate. Fragility fractures at the hip bone is the reason behind most mortalities caused by osteoporosis.
What is the biggest problem about osteoporosis? The problem is that the disease is completely asymptomatic so rarely do people discover it before it is too late. Usually, osteoporotic patients only get diagnosed after their first fragility fracture. And women over the age of 50 are at higher risk of developing osteoporosis than men having the same age.
The diagnosis of osteoporosis is quite easy if the physician is suspecting it. The physician will do a bone mineral density test ( BMD ) and analyzing the results using FRAX score system, this score system will categorize the patients according to the severity of bone loss. Symptoms of osteoporosis are back pain, fragility fractures, loss of height and stooped posture ( bending the posture forwards ).
Holistic Remedies
How can you protect yourself from osteoporosis? You can protect yourself from osteoporosis by maintaining a nutritious diet that contains all of the following:
First on the list is protein. Protein is essential for gaining bone mass during childhood and adolescence period. In addition, it preserves this gained mass while aging. So you should make sure to include meat, fish, nuts, poultry, eggs and dairy products in your diet.
Fruits and vegetables, they contain many vitamins, anti oxidants and minerals that have many benefits for bone mass maintenance.
On the top of the nutrition list comes calcium, it is the most important thing in the process of bone formation. Normal people need to take around 1000 – 1200 mg calcium per day. We could get calcium from milk and dairy products and of course, green vegetables such as broccoli and fruits such as orange and figs.
Magnesium has a huge role in maintaining bone minerals so make sure to include food rich in magnesium in your diet such as, fish, green vegetables and nuts.
Next is zinc. Zinc is very important for the process of bone mineralization and food rich in zinc includes red meat, legumes and poultry.
In addition to the nutritious diet, maintain an adequate quantity of vitamin D in your body through the exposure to sun light on a regular basis, Vitamin D helps in the calcium absorption process from the intestine and also for its role in bone mineralization.
Exercise regularly to maintain strong bones and muscles in children and adults. And avoid smoking and passive smoking as both have a negative impact on the bone health.
Stay healthy. Drink a cup of milk!
