Health Tips & Benefits - Osteoporosis,Osteoporosis Treatments & Causes

Osteoporosis means porous bones.

Osteoporosis, is sometimes thought of as a disease that only affects elderly ladies, this is not true, it can start to affect people at a very early age, it also affects approximately 20% of men in quite a serious manner.It is a disease in which there is a loss of bone mass and destruction of bone tissue.

Osteoporosis has no obvious symptoms and it is often called the "silent thief" because you do not feel anything, it just steals your bone strength without you knowing about it.

In the Greek it translates as "passages through bones."

Osteoporosis is a silent disease in that there is no physical sensation associated with it.Some people experience back, neck, or joint pain with fractures, but most do not.

What Causes Osteoporosis?

If someone in your family has or had osteoporosis,you're more at risk.

White and Asian people are more likely to be affected by osteoporosis than black or Hispanic people, but this does not mean that black or Hispanic people are not at risk.

Estrogen protects bones, so if you have low estrogen levels, you're more at risk for developing osteoporosis.Menopause causes a fast decrease in estrogen levels, which is why if you're a post-menopausal woman, you need to be especially vigilant about your bone health. Women may lose bone at a rate of 4 to 8% per year for several years after their ovaries stop producing estrogen.

Also, if you've had your ovaries removed, your osteoporosis risk increases because the ovaries produce a lot of your estrogen.

As a post-menopausal woman or a woman who's had her ovaries removed, you should look into estrogen therapy to increase your hormone levels.

Even if you're a young woman now, years from menopause, you should be thinking about your estrogen levels. Irregular periods can indicate low estrogen levels—and serve as an early warning to take care of your bones. Irregular periods may also result from over-exercising or under-eating, both of which can increase bone loss.

Men also have estrogen, but for them, it's the testosterone that protects the bones. If they have low levels of hormones, they're more at risk.

If you've broken bones in the past, you could be more at risk for osteoporosis because the broken bone(s) probably lowered your bone mineral densiry (BMD).

Petite and small boned women (under 130 pounds) have less bone mass to begin with, so they need to be particularly vigilant about their bone health.

Osteoporosis Treatments :-

If you have osteoporosis you need to be careful of vigorous, high-impact exercise. However, leading an active lifestyle will improve balance, coordination and develop muscle strength. All these can reduce the risk of falling and fracturing a bone. Beneficial exercise includes swimming, gardening, walking, golf and Tai Chi.

Eating a diet rich in calcium is important for maintaining healthy bones. Good sources of calcium include milk and dairy products, such as hard cheese and yogurt, dried apricots or figs and some green leafy vegetables such as watercress and curly kale.

Your body also needs vitamin D to absorb calcium properly.Vitamin D is found in certain foods, including cod liver oil, oily fish such as sardines and herrings, margarine and egg yolks. It's also made by your skin when you're in the sunlight. The National Osteoporosis Society recommends about 20 minutes of sun exposure to the face and arms, every day during the summer, to provide you with enough vitamin D for the year. However, to reduce your risk of getting skin cancer, you should cover your skin between 11am and 3pm, and don't allow your skin to burn.

You should try not to drink fizzy drinks or have too much caffeine, salt or animal protein, as these can affect the balance of calcium in your body. Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables can help to cancel out the effects of too much protein in your diet.