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Battling brittle bones
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Osteoporosis (meaning porous bones) is a disease that afflicts mostly post menopausal women over the age of 50, leaving them with brittle bones that can break easily and is often charaterized by a hunched over appearance and shrinking stature. While most people tend to think of it in terms of broken hips, those suffering from it are more likely to have multiple bone fractures that can occur in any bones. Not only is it quite painful, but can seriously limit one's mobility and lead to other illnesses as well.
Most women don't realize that they achieve their maximum bone mass around the age of eighteen, and that it begins to decline again at a regular rate once they are over thirty, continuing until after menopause. In fact, it has been reported that some women may actually lose as much as 20% of their bone mass in as little as 5-7 years, resulting in a condition known as osteopenia, a precursor to osteoporosis. Those at most risk seem to be white or Asian women with slender builds, women with a family history of the disease, those who have early menopause, and women who are inactive and/or smoke or drink to excess.
While there is no known cure for osteoporosis, maintaining a good diet with plenty of calcium (around 1200 mgs daily) and plenty of vitamin D each day is vital. So is including a variety of fruits, whole grains, dark green vegetables such as broccoli and spinach, and orange vegetables like yams and carrots, as well as low-fat meats and other proteins . Keeping one's weight down helps safeguard against excessive stress on the bones. Exercise that works to build muscles (which protect bones) and get your heart rate up such as light weight lifting, walking, low-impact aeorbics and playing tennis is also important to help prevent fractures.
Another way to protect yourself is to get screened for early detection. The most common test for osteoporosis is called the Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DXA for short) scan. What this does is measure your bone density and compare it to an average score for a thirty year old healthy woman. The scores, known as T-scores are measured in negative points, such as -1 or better, -1 to -2.5, and -2.5 or worse and the amount of fractures present. For more information check out such online sites as The National Osteoporosis Foundation at www.nof.org and The National Institute of Health, Osteoporosis and Bone Related Diseases national Resource Center at www.osteo.org and speak to your doctor about the various treatments available.
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