osteoporosis

Osteoporosis

According to The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), osteoporosis strikes one in three women over 50 worldwide, and one in five men. So what is osteoporosis and what can we do about it?

Osteoporosis is a loss of bone density that is often present in the elderly. The reasons for this loss in density are many and varied but what we do know is that there are ways to slow the bone loss and even reverse the trend.

In their report Move It Or Lose It, the IOC have reiterated that when it comes to bone density, movement is just as important as diet. In fact women who sit for more than nine hours a day are 50 per cent more likely to suffer a hip fracture as those who sit less than six hours a day. When it comes to improving bone density, resistance and weight-bearing exercise is the key.

What many people don’t realise is that your bones are not as solid as you think. In fact your bones are continually being reabsorbed and reformed. Resistance exercise ‘stresses’ your bones and stimulates them to increase their bone formation and hence bone density.

Because most of your bone density is acquired when you are in your teens, getting your kids to eat adequately and exercise sufficiently may save them lots of problems in the future. Of course segmental movement is just as important as global movement, so making sure that each individual joint (particularly spinal joints) are moving well is really important.

Diet is also very important when it comes to bone density, but not in the way that most people think. They key to good bone density isn’t necessarily in the dairy section. In fact dairy is not the best way to get your calcium. According to the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), eating a good variety of fruits and vegetables, particularly leafy green vegetables, will ensure that you get all of the calcium you need. It is also important to get plenty of Vitamin D (by getting sufficient sunlight) as this also helps with bone density.

Of course as well as increasing your bone formation, it is important to decrease your bone re-absorption. One of the biggest culprits here is our modern acidic diets. Foods like refined carbohydrates and sugars, soft drinks and caffeine increase the acidity in our bodies. In order to neutralise this acid, our bodies remove calcium from our bones and magnesium from our muscles.

So do your resistance exercise and eat a healthy diet and you will make your bones and in fact your whole body healthier.

Click here to subscribe to Dr Brett Hill’s monthly newsletter including all his latest articles.

Do you know how to look after your bones?