If your body is a building, your bones are its framework. Thus it becomes necessary to keep the bones strong. However, with age, our bones start becoming weaker.
Osteoporosis is a condition wherein bones become weak and start losing calcium much quickly. The condition is more severe in women of more than 30 years of age when compared to men. A study shows that more than 10 million people are affected by the disease and 34 million more are at a risk. The bones become less dense, lose strength and break easily.
Osteoporosis has no specific symptom, but yes it increases the risk of fractures. It can be diagnosed through dual energy absorptiometry scan or DXA.
Treating Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis treatment is generally based on the estimate of the risk of breaking a bone. The treatment includes medications and the most common ones are:
- Bisphosphonates: these are given as an intravenous injection, quarterly or yearly injection, monthly pill or as a five year therapy. It should be taken strictly after medical prescription.
- Estrogen therapy: it is given especially to women soon after menopause. It is generally used for younger women or for those whose menopausal symptom requires treatment.
- Testosterone therapy: generally given to men to treat the dual disorder, that is for bone therapy and to treat testosterone deficiency.
- PTH Therapy: this chemical regulates the amount of calcium, magnesium and phosphorous. The treatment is a daily injection of PTH in persons who suffer from severe osteoporosis.
How to Prevent Osteoporosis?
You can take several measures to take care of your bones and prevent osteoporosis. Have a look:
- Take calcium-rich food
It is highly recommended to consume dairy products such as milk, cheese, curd etc. If you are a non-vegetarian, take salmon, or whitebait. Besides you can also take dried figs, tofu, and soy milk.
- Vitamin D
It is the main vitamin that helps in the absorption of calcium from the food. You can take vitamin D pills or naturally from sunshine.
- Exercise
A study suggested that load bearing exercises compress your bones. You can try running, jogging, and aerobics to increase the bone strength. Make sure that you consult your doctor before doing this.
- Quit smoking and drinking
If you smoke and drink, then it is highly recommended to quit as soon as possible because these habits are the major cause of osteoporosis.
- Eat green vegetables
Green vegetables contain a lot of calcium, potassium and an anti-clot called vitamin K that blocks calcium loss from bones. Thus, you should eat more of broccoli, kale, Swiss chard and turnip greens in your food.
- Limit protein
It is highly recommended to limit your protein intake as high protein raises the excretion of calcium.
- Do not drink tea and coffee
Consuming tea and coffee makes a person more diuretic and this leads to the loss of calcium from the body.
Thus, adopt the above-mentioned ways and prevent yourself from suffering from Osteoporosis.
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