It’s a disease that you may not even know that you have. Osteoporosis is a disease that takes a long time to manifest because the loss of bone occurs slowly over many years. People often don’t even realize they have osteoporosis until a bone breaks. Sometimes the first clue is a minor fall that wouldn’t cause a break in people with healthy bones. Sometimes, if the disease is advanced, the bone breaks and then falling occurs. If you wait for the symptoms to show up like swelling and joint pain, the disease can be far advanced.
Caused by a lack of bone density, osteoporosis affects millions of adults in the United States. Because the onset of menopause causes the body to make less estrogen, it’s a disease that often affects more women than men.
There are many things you can do to prevent or slow down the onset of osteoporosis. Smoking and a sedentary lifestyle are two of the major contributors along with excessive alcohol consumption. If your diet doesn’t include foods that contain enough vitamin D and calcium you are increasing your chances of osteoporosis.
While lifestyle factors are important in predicting osteoporosis, there are some risk factors that you can’t change. Aging brings a decrease in estrogen levels in women and a decrease of testosterone in men causing a reduction in bone mineral density. Heredity is another factor as osteoporosis tends to run in families. Also, you have a higher likelihood of osteoporosis if you are of Asian or European ancestry.
You can avoid or slow down the onset of osteoporosis by making a few changes to your lifestyle. Getting lots of exercise puts stress on your bones and makes them stronger. A healthy diet is essential to bone health and this includes eating a mix of foods that have vitamin D and calcium. Yogurt, cheese, milk and leafy green vegetables are great sources of nutrients needed for strong bones. And if you smoke, quit. The sooner the better.
You don’t have to radically change your lifestyle to start improving your health. Start small and make some changes in how you eat and exercise and you can help prevent broken bones and the damage caused by osteoporosis.
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