Vitamin D Osteoporosis, Information, Symptoms, Treatments

Calcium and Vitamin D help prevent Osteoporois. Learn more about the natural treatemtns for Osteoprosis below.

Help Your Bones with Calcium

Calcium is a very important mineral to ensure the proper development and health of your bones and teeth throughout your lifetime. You should ensure that you are ingesting the daily requires amounts of calcium, starting as a child.

Your body needs calcium at a young age to develop strong bones and teeth. This may not mean a lot when you’re young, but later on when your bones are brittle, your spine is bent over with osteoporosis and your teeth are falling apart, you’ll be asking yourself why you didn’t get enough calcium when you were young.

Osteoporosis reduces your bone mineral density, basically making your bones weaker and prone to fracturing. Preventing osteoporosis should be a concern early in life, as bone mass development culminates at the age of 30. After that it is imperative to continue to maintain the strength of your bones and teeth with calcium, Vitamin D and exercise, although this maintenance system would be a lot easier if you helped build your strong bones and teeth with calcium at an earlier age, from ten years old onwards.

Calcium also works at developing the body’s lymphatic fluids, which is important to the immune system.

Vitamin D is required in order for your bones to be able to absorb calcium. Good sources of vitamin D are eggs and milk, and fifteen minutes of sunlight each day. Our bodies absorb the sunlight to create our own Vitamin D. The best time to harvest all this sunlight is early in the morning when the light is not yet harsh.

Weight-bearing exercise, such as walking, jogging, dancing and weight-lifting, also help strengthen our bones and teeth and fight calcium depletion.

Research has shown that individuals who were breast fed as babies are noted to have stronger teeth than those who were weaned to drinking cow’s milk right away, and especially those who stopped drinking milk at an early age. Pregnant women should take more liberal amounts of calcium than normal, because their babies are often depleting their mothers’ calcium. Smoking and drinking also deplete calcium and weaken the bones.

We need different levels of calcium at different ages. Infants from birth to six months should get 210 mg of calcium a day, while the calcium levels are raised to 270 mg a day from 7 to 12 months. Children up to three years should then get an average of 500 mg of calcium daily, rising to 800 in the next four years, then to 1,300 mg throughout their teenage life. At the age of 19, the recommended daily allowance of calcium has lowered to 1000 mg a day, until the age of 50. Those 50 years old and older must increase their intake of calcium up to 1,200 mg.

Too much calcium, on the other hand, can also be inadvisable as it could lead to hypocalcaemia, which will lower your body’s ability to absorb other nutrients. It could also weaken your kidneys.

Calcium is best found in milk and other dairy products, such as cheese and yogurt. People who are allergic to dairy products, are lactose intolerant and/or are vegans, or vegetarians who refuse to consume any kind of animal products, could also get their calcium from other sources, such as seaweed, particularly kelp and hijiki, nuts, oranges, vegetables such as broccoli, okra, collard greens and kale, and sardines, among others. Soy milk is also used as a substitute for milk, as with fortified orange juice. And of course, there are many excellent calcium supplements on the market. Calcium supplements usually also contain some amount of Vitamin D in their formulation.

So, whether you are lactose intolerant or not, there are no excuses not to get your recommended doses of calcium daily. In the long run, your bones and teeth will thank you for it.

Colin Albert runs the CalciumShop website. The website discusses a new product called SolarCal D, an all-natural supplement that uses marine grade coral calcium, Vitamin D and magnesium to aid the body in maintaining bone health.

The Elements of Osteoporosis Prevention
In this series of articles, I will expound on the "elements" of osteoporosis prevention.

Calcium and Osteoporosis
Calcium and Osteoporosis. Calcium:. 99% of Calcium is found in bone, 1% serves an intracellular messengers. Most of that 99% of calcium in bone is found in bone with [...]

Calcium Treatment for Osteoporosis
Calcium has been used in the treatment of osteoporosis to reduce the rate of bone loss associated with the condition. Combined with vitamin D, phosphorus, and certain exercises, calcium [...]

Fight and Prevent Osteoporosis Naturally
Calcium and Protein Can Also Help Prevent Osteoporosis If one’s diet is deficient in protein then bone rebuilding will not be a high priority for the body.

Technorati Tags: calcium, natural, osteoporosis, treatments, vitamin d

Monthly Osteoporosis Treatment

Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones become fragile and more likely to break. If not prevented or if left untreated, osteoporosis can progress painlessly until a bone breaks. These broken bones, also known as fractures, occur typically in the hip, spine, and wrist.Osteoporosis is a disease of bone that leads to an increased risk of fracture. In osteoporosis the bone mineral density (BMD) is reduced, bone micro architecture is disrupted, and the amount and variety of non-collage nous proteins in bone is altered. Osteoporosis is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) in women as a bone mineral density 2.5 standard deviations below peak bone mass (20-year-old healthy female average) as measured by DXA;

Risk factors of Osteoporosis
Age. The older you get, the higher your risk of osteoporosis. Your bones become weaker as you age.
Race. You’re at greatest risk of osteoporosis if you’re white or of Southeast Asian descent. Black and Hispanic men and women have a lower, but still significant, risk.

Sex. Osteoporosis is more common in women than men. Eighty percent, or four out of five, of the 10 million Americans who have it are women. There are several reasons for this. Women have lighter, thinner bones to begin with. They also lose loose bone rapidly after menopause.

The factors that may contribute to osteoporosis are not well defined. For example, studies by the U.S. National Institute of Child and Human Development (NICHD) have shown that irregular menstrual periods in young women may signal a hormonal shortage that could lead to osteoporosis.

Symptoms of Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is often called the "silent disease", because bone loss occurs without symptoms. People may not know that they have osteoporosis until their bones become so weak that a sudden strain, bump, or fall causes a bone to fracture or a vertebra to collapse. However, there may be a chronic, dull pain particularly in the lower back or neck, which may become sharp later in the course of the disease.

Later in the course of the disease, sharp pains may come on suddenly. It may not radiate; it may be made worse by activity that puts weight on the area, may be tender, and generally begins to subside in 1 week. Pain may linger more than 3 months.

Treatment of Osteoporosis
Although osteoporosis has no cure, several types of medications are available to reduce the rate of bone loss, increase bone density, and reduce the number of fractures. In general, they work in two main ways: they lessen bone break down (anti-resorptive agents) or they stimulate the formation of new bone (anabolic agents).

Hormone therapy
Hormone therapy (HT) was once the mainstay of treatment for osteoporosis. But because of concerns about its safety and because other treatments are available, the role of hormone therapy in managing osteoporosis is changing. Most problems have been linked to certain oral types of HT, either taken in combination with progestin or alone.In addition, it is important to get enough vitamin D. A daily intake of 400 IU, but no more than 800 IU, each day is recommended. Obtaining adequate amounts of vitamin D from our food may be difficult. The main sources of dietary vitamin D are fortified milk (100 IU/cup), egg yolks (25 IU/yolk) and oily fish (vitamin D content varies).

By: James Sameul

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Read about Diabetes Treatment, diabetes Blog. Also Read about Diet blog, nutrition blog, diet nutrition and Health and Diseases

Osteoporosis Treatments & Causes
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 [...]

Osteoporosis Treatments That Help Prevent Broken Bones
Osteoporosis means that bones become less dense (or less solid). Bones that are less dense are weak and break easier. 

Natural Treatments for Osteoporosis
There are many treatment options available that can help with the side effects of the disease but many people prefer to try natural osteoporosis treatments as they prefer them [...]

Technorati Tags: cures, osteoporosis, symptoms, treatments, vitamin d

Menopause And Osteoporosis

We know that our bodies require calcium and vitamin D in order to build and maintain powerful bones. According to his recent book entitled, ‘Preventing and Reversing Osteoporosis,’ by Dr. Alan Gaby, it takes more vitamins than we think to prevent brittle bones including Vitamins K and B; as well as minerals such as magnesium, phosphorus, fluorine, silica and boron.

The idea is to provide enough combined supplementation for our bodies to make an abundance of healthy collagen which is the connective tissue used to create cartilage and bones. Collagen also ‘binds’ our cells together and as a result, someone with good collagen has healthy looking skin whereas another will have thin and wrinkled skin.

A healthy bone cut in half looks similar to a sponge. The body deposits calcium, phosphorus and other minerals onto all of those connective fibers and you get healthy bones! The holes give the bone its flexibility, and you won’t have healthy bones if you don’t have plenty of collagen on which to deposit the minerals.

Collagen is primarily a protein which is made from amino acids. Our bodies can create some of our requirements but we also need additional amounts from our foods and supplements including lysine and praline. Vitamin C is also required to create collagen.

Now we know how bones can be made stronger, but how is this process affected by menopause? The loss of estrogen due to menopause or possibly surgical removal of the ovaries can accelerate bone loss for a period of up to 8 years. It is well established that replacing that estrogen helps protect against the risk of osteoporosis.

More often, women’s bones become fragile as we age and it’s not uncommon to break bones in the wrist, spine and hip due to osteoporosis. Unfortunately, a fracture such as in the hip, can even shorten our life span so it is important to pay attention to our bone health.

What should be done to prevent osteoporosis from happening after menopause?

First of all, eat the foods that are calcium-rich (about 1,000 mg per day) and can enhance bone growth including: sardines, salmon, seafood, and green leafy vegetables such as swiss chard, beet tops, kale, mustard greens, collards, spinach, dandelion greens, watercress, parsley, chicory, turnip greens, broccoli leaves, almonds, asparagus, blackstrap molasses, broccoli, cabbage, carob, figs, filberts, oats, prunes, sesame seeds, tofu and other soy products. Vitamin D-rich foods include fish oils such as found in salmon, mackerel, sardines), eggs (including the yolks), sweet potatoes, tuna, vegetable oils and cod liver oil. Getting 15-20 minutes of sunlight exposure daily can also boost production of vitamin D.

Exercise is crucial; in particular, you need weight-bearing exercise such as walking, Tai chi, dancing and weight training to reduce the chances of brittle bones at least two times a week. Include 15 to 60 minutes of aerobic activity two to three times a week. Avoid high-impact activities and include stretching exercises.

Finally, use high-quality supplements prescribed by your doctor or health-care provider, and oh yeah, don’t forget to have fun.

The information in this article is for educational purposes only, and is not intended as medical advice.

By: Cathy Taylor

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Cathy Taylor is a marketing consultant with over 25 years experience. She specializes in internet marketing, strategy and plan development, as well as management of communications and public relations programs for small business sectors. She can be reached at Creative Communications: creative-com@cox.net or by visiting www.everythingmenopause.com, www.howtoconquermenopause.com or www.internet-marketing-small-business.com

Unhealthy Ways to Lose Weight During Menopause
The depletion of bone mass is considerably increased during menopause, increasing the possibility of bone fractures more than men, it also puts them at risk for osteoporosis.

What is Osteoporosis?
At this age, bone density of women shrink 0.5% -1% per year, and the shrink 2% -3% when entering the menopause that lasts for 10 years during the early menopause.

Winning My Battle With Osteoporosis
Twenty-eight million Americans will face osteoporosis. Often triggered by hormonal changes that occur after menopause, osteoporosis results in the fracturing of bones [...]

Menopause and Dairy Free Calcium
She talks about an approach to avoiding osteoporosis with fruits and vegetables, including the practice of …. juicing!!

Boniva for Osteoporosis - OrganizedWisdom Health
Boniva (ibandronate) is used to prevent and treat osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. 

Technorati Tags: calcium, postmenopausal osteoporosis, prevent, treatments, Vitamin D Osteoporosis

Calcium And The Treatment For Osteoporosis

Help Your Bones with Calcium

Calcium is a very important mineral to ensure the proper development and health of your bones and teeth throughout your lifetime. You should ensure that you are ingesting the daily requires amounts of calcium, starting as a child.

Your body needs calcium at a young age to develop strong bones and teeth. This may not mean a lot when you’re young, but later on when your bones are brittle, your spine is bent over with osteoporosis and your teeth are falling apart, you’ll be asking yourself why you didn’t get enough calcium when you were young.

Osteoporosis reduces your bone mineral density, basically making your bones weaker and prone to fracturing. Preventing osteoporosis should be a concern early in life, as bone mass development culminates at the age of 30. After that it is imperative to continue to maintain the strength of your bones and teeth with calcium, Vitamin D and exercise, although this maintenance system would be a lot easier if you helped build your strong bones and teeth with calcium at an earlier age, from ten years old onwards.

Calcium also works at developing the body’s lymphatic fluids, which is important to the immune system.

Vitamin D is required in order for your bones to be able to absorb calcium. Good sources of vitamin D are eggs and milk, and fifteen minutes of sunlight each day. Our bodies absorb the sunlight to create our own Vitamin D. The best time to harvest all this sunlight is early in the morning when the light is not yet harsh.

Weight-bearing exercise, such as walking, jogging, dancing and weight-lifting, also help strengthen our bones and teeth and fight calcium depletion.

Research has shown that individuals who were breast fed as babies are noted to have stronger teeth than those who were weaned to drinking cow’s milk right away, and especially those who stopped drinking milk at an early age. Pregnant women should take more liberal amounts of calcium than normal, because their babies are often depleting their mothers’ calcium. Smoking and drinking also deplete calcium and weaken the bones.

We need different levels of calcium at different ages. Infants from birth to six months should get 210 mg of calcium a day, while the calcium levels are raised to 270 mg a day from 7 to 12 months. Children up to three years should then get an average of 500 mg of calcium daily, rising to 800 in the next four years, then to 1,300 mg throughout their teenage life. At the age of 19, the recommended daily allowance of calcium has lowered to 1000 mg a day, until the age of 50. Those 50 years old and older must increase their intake of calcium up to 1,200 mg.

Too much calcium, on the other hand, can also be inadvisable as it could lead to hypocalcaemia, which will lower your body’s ability to absorb other nutrients. It could also weaken your kidneys.

Calcium is best found in milk and other dairy products, such as cheese and yogurt. People who are allergic to dairy products, are lactose intolerant and/or are vegans, or vegetarians who refuse to consume any kind of animal products, could also get their calcium from other sources, such as seaweed, particularly kelp and hijiki, nuts, oranges, vegetables such as broccoli, okra, collard greens and kale, and sardines, among others. Soy milk is also used as a substitute for milk, as with fortified orange juice. And of course, there are many excellent calcium supplements on the market. Calcium supplements usually also contain some amount of Vitamin D in their formulation.

So, whether you are lactose intolerant or not, there are no excuses not to get your recommended doses of calcium daily. In the long run, your bones and teeth will thank you for it.

Colin Albert runs the CalciumShop website. The website discusses a new product called SolarCal D, an all-natural supplement that uses marine grade coral calcium, Vitamin D and magnesium to aid the body in maintaining bone health.

Health Nutrition Supplements:
Also many calcium supplements now contain vitamin D. Calcium absorption and excretion can be affected by what you eat. 

Going Natural with Osteoporosis Management
My doctor’s solution was to put me on calcium supplements, and assured me they were safe [...]

Calcium and Osteoporosis Information
Many people are concerned about osteoporosis and calcium. Find the information you need about calcium supplements.

Technorati Tags: bone health, calcium, supplemetns, Vitamin D Osteoporosis

Taking Care of Your Body’s Bones

There are a number of things you can do to make sure your bones stay strong and healthy. These involve dietary considerations, exercise and lifestyle choices.

It is important to take good care of your bones. They need to be strong and healthy in order to perform a number of functions and to maintain your overall body health.

The skeleton provides protection and structural support for major organs such as the lungs, heart, brain and marrow. Your bones are attached to ligaments and muscle tendons, enabling you to move your limbs. Your skeleton is a mineral reservoir for magnesium, phosphorus and calcium and your body draws on these when it needs them. The bones also act as a shock absorber. They are light yet strong, made of a web-like structure. If this structure is weakened, bones can become brittle or thin. This leads to diseases such as osteoporosis.

There are a number of things you can do to make sure your bones stay strong. First of all, never underestimate the important of a healthy balanced diet, rich in vitamins and minerals.

Which Vitamins and Minerals Improve Bone Strength?

Calcium, magnesium and Vitamin D are known for being beneficial to bone health. It is better to take smaller amounts more often. Orange juice fortified with calcium is a great source, as are dairy products such as milk, cheese and yogurt. There are also some excellent calcium supplements available.

Magnesium is needed for the body to be able to absorb calcium. 250mg of magnesium a day is sufficient. Vitamin D is obtained from sitting in the sun for about half an hour each day and also from vitamin-fortified milk, fruit juice and in multivitamins. Vitamin D is used to maintain the body’s levels of calcium and phosphorus. Without enough Vitamin D, your bones might become soft, brittle, misshapen or thin.

Dairy foods, dark green leafy vegetables, oysters, salmon, sardines and broccoli are good sources of bone-friendly vitamins and minerals. Garlic and onions, which contain sulphur, are beneficial for bone health too. If you are uncertain whether you are getting sufficient minerals through your diet, it might be a good idea to take supplements to make sure. The younger you are when you start taking care of your bones, the higher your chance of avoiding osteoporosis (when your bones decrease in density and become much easier to fracture or break).

The Benefits of Exercise

Being physically active is important for maintaining and developing bone health and strength. In fact, exercise is great for many parts of the body and can make you feel good too. Walking and running, dancing and weight-lifting are especially advantageous for bone health. Swimming and yoga are good too. Physical exercise puts a small amount of stress on the bones and activity prompts the body to make them stronger.

What to Avoid

There are also various things to avoid, which are harmful to bone health. Smoking increases the amount of calcium excreted in urine, so your bones might not get enough. A high caffeine intake and diets very rich in animal protein have a similar effect.

Bone Density Loss in Women

Women can be especially vulnerable to osteoporosis because of fluctuating hormones in the menopause. Keeping an eye on your hormone levels and a possible course of hormone replacement therapy can help to prevent bone thinning. Your doctor will be able to advise you about this.

If you follow these steps, you have a far better chance of enjoying healthy bones for years to come. Strong bones mean that you can move freely without pain and enjoy your life to the fullest.

Stephanie Bogue operates the CalciumShop website. The site features a product called SolarCal, a natural supplement that uses marine grade coral calcium, Vitamin D and magnesium to help boost the body’s health.

Bone Health - Arthritis and Osteoporosis
When it comes to the bone health issues such as Osteoporosis and Arthritis, there often can be the assumption that both of these conditions are similar bone problems [...]

Learning about bone health important for treating osteoporosis
Dr. Holly Thacker of the Cleveland Clinic discusses a new study that found fef when seniors break a bone due to osteoporosis, their chances of [...].

Bone Health Boosted by Colorful Foods
Eating foods rich in brightly colored plant pigments known as carotenoids might help preserve bone mineral density and prevent osteoporosis.

Technorati Tags: loss, symptoms, treatment, vitamin d osteoporosis . bone density

The role of Vitamin D and mineral supplements in the fight to prevent Osteoporosis

How To Avoid Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is expected to affect a growing number of people and prevention is becoming increasingly important. Most individuals do not meet their daily intake of vitamin D because of people’s lifestyle and climate.

A deficiency of vitamin D can lead to various health problems including osteoporosis.

A common disease that affects more women than men, osteoporosis often goes undetected at the early stage but can become quite debilitating as it is usually the reason behind falls and bone fractures. Osteoporosis is characterized by an accelerated loss of bone mass, resulting in more fragile bones that are susceptible to fractures. As life expectancy increases in North America and in many countries, osteoporosis is expected to affect a growing number of people and prevention is becoming increasingly important. One of the best ways to avoid this disease is to ensure an appropriate intake of calcium and vitamin D from birth since bone development during childhood and adolescence is a key determinant of adult skeleton health. Although it’s never too late to build up your calcium and vitamin D stores, the earlier you start, the more you’ll benefit when you’re older. The recommended daily intake of vitamin D depends on your age. From age 4 to age 50, 400 IU. Over age 50, 800 IU and 200 IU during pregnancy and breast feeding.

BEST WAYS TO OVERCOME OSTEOPOROSIS

The sun is clearly the main source of vitamin D but there are other food sources including dairy products, eggs and fish. Vitamin D plays a key role in helping the body absorb calcium from food to build strong bones. It is estimated that vitamin D can boost calcium absorption by 30% to 80%. Most individuals do not meet their daily vitamin D requirements because of people’s lifestyle and climate. A deficiency of this vitamin can lead to various health problems like high blood pressure, fatigue, joint problems, skin rashes and osteoporosis.

VITAMIN D AND NATURAL SUPPLEMENTS

Everyone, regardless of age, must get enough vitamin D to ensure proper bone development but there are some groups that are more susceptible to vitamin D deficiency. In the first place, the Elderly, because its production by the skin slows down as we age. The elderly must therefore make sure to get an adequate supply of vitamin D in order to maintain good bone health and prevent the ravages of osteoporosis. Then you have the people with little exposure to sunlight. Such individuals must obtain their vitamin D from natural supplements. They can get all daily vitamin D with Instant Sunshine and all Calcium with Ultimate Calcium. Press on the banners below and place your order. Take action and responsibility for your health now.

Gilles Coulombe B.A, B.LL D.S.A.
For more information, go to health frontier.

By Gilles Coulombe Published: 8/28/2008

Protelos ‘Better Than Alendronate For Osteoporosis Treatment’
Protelos shows better results in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis compared to alendrona.

Osteopathic Treatment for Sciatica | Natural Holistic Health Blog
The cause of sciatica is usually pressure being placed on the sciatic [...]

Osteoporosis Treatment
Note: Deep muscle massage should not be done near the spine of a person who has spinal Osteoporos….

Supplydepot.com
However, it is related to Osteoporosis. Osteopenia is where your bone density is at a lowered [...]

Technorati Tags: avoid, cure, supplements, treatment, Vitamin D Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis And Trampoline Exercises - Bounce Your Way To Better Health!

If you’re looking for information about osteoporosis and trampoline use, we can help you! If you’re worried about osteoporosis there is hope, there are positive things you can do to help reduce your risk factor and have fun while you’re doing it!

Osteoporosis, a reduction in the density of the bones in your body, can be a debilitating condition. It can lead to fractures, joint problems and mobility issues that can seriously impact your quality of life. Many people worry about the possibility of it’s onset, but few understand what they can do to prevent it.

Those with a family history of the condition may be particularly likely to encounter it, as well as older people, especially older women, who tend to have a higher natural risk factor. However, it’s not a selective disease and just about anyone could find themselves facing it at some point in their lives.

The good news about osteoporosis is that there is a lot that can be done to minimize your chances of being a sufferer. Leading a healthier lifestyle, avoiding excess alcohol, quitting smoking and eating right will go a long way to help, but one of the best things you can do is exercise!

Studies have shown that the right kind of exercise is a major factor in lowering your chances of suffering bone density issues and their associated conditions. What’s the right kind of exercise? Weight bearing low impact workouts are the key here, just the kind you’ll get from a trampoline!

Trampoline health benefits are enormous in the case of those who may be likely to develop low bone density. Simple trampoline excercises can improve muscle mass and encourage your body to strengthen bones, without putting you at risk of painful joint injury or muscle strain.

Most sporting goods stores now carry specially designed exercise trampolines, ruggedly designed for adult use. Just a small amount of regular use can make a huge difference, Doctors recommend thirty minute exercise sessions three times a week as a good regular program, increasing intensity as you get more fit.

Osteoporosis and trampoline use is a widely discussed topic amongst health professionals and bone specialists, so if you’re seeking in-depth advice about trampoline excercises or just worried if it’s right for you and your body, your doctor will be able to help. Make sure to consult your doctor before starting on an exercise program, especially if you may already have the beginning of osteoporosis. It’s important to get medical guidance to find an exercise program suitable for you.

Keep active with more information on where to buy a trampoline, trampoline mats replacements and trampoline parts.

Exercise Shields Against Osteoporosis
Those who had participated in low-impact, weight-bearing exercise, such as swimming, while younger had significantly greater bone mineral content in both the spine and the thigh bone.

Five basic steps to avoid Osteoporosis
Weight-bearing exercise. Like muscle, bone is living tissue that responds to exercise by becoming stronger.

Weight-bearing sports ‘reduce risk of osteoporosis’
Weight-bearing exercise in youth affects bone, and these effects may be preserved as [bone mineral content], geometric and [...]

Technorati Tags: bone loss, exercises of osteoporosis, treatments, Vitamin D Osteoporosis

Boost Bone Health With Boron And Other Minerals

About 44 million American men and women suffer from osteoporosis (severe bone loss) or osteopenia (mild bone loss), with women being affected twice as much as men. Each year, at least 1.5 million hip, vertebra, or wrist fractures occur in the United States because of osteoporosis.

Although bone mass normally declines after age thirty-five, bone loss that is severe enough to cause fractures after only a minor trauma is a different problem.

Some of the risk factors for osteoporosis include: small body frame, underweight, Caucasian or Asian race, a sedentary lifestyle, cigarette smoking, excessive alcohol or caffeine intake, high intake of carbonated beverages, and having other family member with osteoporosis. Certain medical conditions such as diabetes, celiac disease, hyperthyroidism, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic obstructive lung disease, hyperadrenalism, and hyperparathyroidism are also associated with an increased risk of osteoporosis. There are also some medications that increase the rate of bone loss such as those prescribed for seizures and blood thinning, prednisone and other steroids, aluminum-containing antacids, and loop diuretics. By engaging in regular weight bearing exercise, avoiding excessive consumption of alcohol and caffeine, and quitting smoking, the rate of bone loss will be slowed. Eating adequate amounts of protein and supplementing with various vitamins and minerals also enhances bone health.

Calcium salts are absorbed about the same for most people, absorbing between thirty to forty percent of the administered dose. Those with low stomach acid, hypochlorhydria, should not use calcium carbonate because it is absorbed poorly without stomach acid. For many older people, calcium phosphate is preferable because phosphorus is necessary for normal bone formation. Calcium that is bound to phosphorus is the form in which calcium is stored in the bone, and has a much greater bone activity than other forms.

In order to promote strong bones, vitamin D is a necessary nutrient. Because vitamin D is produced when ultraviolet rays from the sun hit the skin, those people who stay out of the sun, wear sunscreen, or live in a northern latitude are at an increased risk of vitamin D deficiency. Aging also decreases a person’s ability to produce vitamin D in the skin. Supplementation with 700-800 IU of vitamin D per day has been proven to decrease the number of hip fractures by 26%. However, 400 IU per day was ineffective. In addition to improving bone health, vitamin D improves nerve and muscle function in older people, which reduces their risk of falling down. 800 IU of vitamin D per day in elderly women has shown to decrease the number of falls by about 50%. The ’safe upper limit,’ as determined by The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine is 4,000 IU per day. However, you most likely don’t need nearly this much to help bone issues.

 Because bone is a living tissue that is constantly remodeling itself and engaging in many biological functions, it has a wide range of nutritional needs. Not getting enough of one or more of the important micronutrients needed is an important contributing factor to osteoporosis. In addition to supplementing with calcium and vitamin D, magnesium, zinc, copper, manganese, vitamin K, boron, strontium, silicon, folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, phosphorus, and vitamin C are all shown to have a vital role in bone health. Calcium is a component of the mineral crystals that makes up the bone. Vitamin D enhances calcium absorption and prevents falls by improving nerve and muscle function. Magnesium is important in bone mineralization, which is similar to zinc. However, zinc also increases bone loss. Copper also promotes bone mineralization and decreases bone loss. Manganese plays a vital role in the creation of the connective-tissue components of the bone. Boron supports the creation of bone-protecting hormones such as estrogen, testosterone, and DHEA. Silicon has a vital role in the synthesis of connective-tissue components in the bone. Deficiency of silicon has been associated with bone abnormalities. B vitamins, including folic acid, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12, have been shown to lower blood levels of homocysteine. A high level of homocysteine concentration is a very big risk factor for fractures in elderly people. Strontium is a trace mineral that is incorporated into bone and increases bone strength. It stimulates bone formation and inhibits bone breakdown. Vitamin K is best known for its effect on blood clotting. However, it is also required for the creation of osteocalcin, which is a unique protein that is found in bone and participates in the mineralization process. The amount of vitamin K needed for optimal bone health is greater than that amount needed to prevent bleeding. Deficiency in any of these nutrients is often associated with the development of osteoporosis.

There are two forms of vitamin K that are present in food, vitamin K1 and vitamin K2. Vitamin K1 is found in leafy green vegetables and some vegetable oils. Vitamin K2 is found in much smaller amounts in meat, cheese, eggs, and natto. Vitamin K2 can occur in more than one form, menaquinine-4 (MK-4), a licensed prescription drug in Japan, and menaquinone-7 (MK-7), which is extracted from natto. Research has shown that MK-7 is the ideal form of vitamin K. After oral administration, it was better absorber and lasted long in the body compared to MK-4 and vitamin K1. Even though both have shown the ability to prevent osteoporosis, a much lower dosage of MK-7 is required to obtain the beneficial effects. MK-7 has greater biological activity, bioavailability, and more potent effects on the bone.

Strontium is very important in building strong bones. After being studied by bone health researchers, it has been determined that lower doses are not only safer for long-term supplementation, but also have a greater impact on bone health than high doses. Too little of a dose and bone density will be impaired, but too much and health will be impaired. In this case, dosing needs to be just right for optimal impact. Therefore, keeping supplemental strontium at less than 6 mg per day is the best decision.

Nutrients work by different mechanisms than osteoporosis drugs, allowing them to have the ability to be taken with osteoporosis medications and enhance the beneficial effect of these medications. Because calcium and other minerals may interfere with the absorption of osteoporosis medications, they should be taken at least two hours before or two hours after taking osteoporosis medications. It is always best to also discuss the supplements with your healthcare practitioner to create the best health plan for you. The above supplements and other fine products can be found at your friendly internet health food store.

By: Darrell Miller -

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Visit VitaNet Health Foods at vitanetonline.com/ VitaNet sells high quality supplements like Boron to improve bone health. Please link to this site when using this article.

 
Osteopenia, Osteoporosis, and Rheumatoid Arthritis
Boron is possibly an essential trace mineral and one needed by the body to prevent osteopenia, osteoporosis, or rheumatoid [...]

Osteoporosis
Minerals such as boron and silicon. Boron helps to activate vitamin D, and Silicon improves the cross linking of collagen allowing for [...]

Boron Osteoporosis, Osteopenia Trace Mineral
Boron Osteoporosis, Osteopena and arthritis helped by trace mineral boron.

Mantain Your Bone Density
It is not only on foods that calcium is necessary for bone formation, but also magnesium and boron, and vitamin D helps calcium absorption.

Technorati Tags: osteopenia, suppliments, symptoms, treatment, Vitamin D Osteoporosis

Weight Lifting Does More Than Increase Strength

Weight lifting is essential for good health. Did you know that weightlifting can help to increase bone density and aid in the prevention of osteoporosis?

Weight lifting should be part of any fitness program. It is a great way to increase your strength and is an excellent exercise choice for nearly everyone. Weight lifting can help with strength, weight loss, and general fitness. Weight lifting can be a very safe and effective form of exercise, when performed correctly and consistently. It is a valuable form of exercise for most people, from the teen to senor years.

Unfortunately, some of the benefits of weight lifting are not widely known. Weight lifting is essential for good health. One positive aspect of weight lifting is that bone density will increase with consistent training and aid in the prevention of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a bone thinning disease that can lead to serious fractures. Osteoporosis adversely affects many women after menopause and some men in their senior years. Girls and young women should concentrate on building strong bones in order to decrease their risk of osteoporosis later in life. Women undergo rapid bone loss after menopause, when levels of estrogen drop significantly. The more bone density they have at that time, the more prepared they are to battle osteoporosis.

Rather than thinking of using weights to pump up, we must remember that weight lifting is imperative for maintaining good health. Besides improving bone density, using weights to exercise will increase muscular strength, improve coordination, improve balance, decrease body fat, and can lead to better overall health. And for those interested in weight loss, you may enjoy knowing that the more muscles you build, the more calories you will burn.

If you have never used weights to exercise, weight lifting is not something that you should start on your own. Weight lifting can be a very safe form of exercise, but you should seek the help of a fitness trainer to help get started. An experienced fitness trainer can assign an exercise routine and teach you how to perform each exercise safely. Beginners should use machine weight lifting in order to become accustomed to the proper motion and learn safely. Those more advanced can build strength efficiently with dumbbells and barbells.

Once on your own, be sure to perform each exercise with perfect form before increasing the weight. Three great exercises for the upper body are the chest press, shoulder press, and wide-bar pull down. For more variety in your fitness program an exercise routine may include pull-ups, rowing, biceps curls, and triceps extensions. Popular lower body exercises include step-ups, squats, and the leg press. Besides weight training, body-weight exercises such as push-ups and pull-ups are very effective when performed correctly. It is best to perform a variety of exercises, appropriate for your fitness level, to ensure you have a well rounded fitness program. Performing the same exercise routine over and over will eventually result in a plateau. Your muscles will have adapted to the routine. At that point you must change the exercise routine otherwise you could decrease your chances of reaching your goal.

Weight lifting should be part of your complete fitness program. Cardiovascular exercise such as walking on a treadmill or using an exercise bicycle should also be performed on a regular basis. And of course, flexibility exercises must be included in each workout in order to keep the best possible range of motion throughout your body. As previously mentioned, weight lifting, when performed correctly and consistently, is essential for a healthy life.

Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a new exercise program. Keep in mind that you should promptly seek professional medical care if you have any concern about your health.

 
Preventing Osteoporosis
Medical evidence supports an improvement in bone density where people make lifestyle changes to incorporate weight bearing exercise [...]

Bone Loss, Osteoporosis, Depression, Menopause
So, even before emerging research began to show that Tai Chi may contribute to stronger bones in menopausal women perhaps by reducing stress hormone levels [...]

Study Shows Exercise Shields Against Osteoporosis
"Doing weight-bearing exercise during adolescence may help women maintain their bone strength in old age", a new study says.

Bone Health Boosted by Colorful Foods 
Even gentle weight-bearing exercise such as walking or yoga can help prevent bone loss.

Technorati Tags: bone density, exercises, osteopenia, stength training

Causes of Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a very common lifestyle and age-related disease plaguing people all over the world in our times. This article enumerates the little-known causes of osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis literally means ‘porous bones’. In people with osteoporosis, there is faulty mineralization of the bones, which cause the bones to become porous within, with a lot of embedded hollow-like spaces. This causes the bones to be more brittle than the bones of young people, and causes them to get fractured easily.

Bones require two essential minerals for their formation - they are calcium and phosphates. These minerals work within the bone to mineralize it and to keep it ‘alive’. However, in people where this mineralization cannot occur for some reason, or if it occurs only erratically, then the person suffers from the condition of osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis-affected bones have more pronounced hollow spaces within them, which causes them to break more frequently and more easily. Such fractures happen in situations where healthy people would not normally get a fracture. Osteoporosis mostly affects the long bone femur, or the spine or the wrist bones. However, the porosity of the bones happens throughout the body.

The Process of Bone Development

In order to understand why osteoporosis occurs, we must first understand a process known as bone development.

Bones are not lifeless parts of the body. They are very much living (that is the reason why it pains terribly when a bone is hurt or fractured), and they are constantly re-growing. Just as the cells in the body die out and are replaced by new cells in a relentless manner, bones are also worn out and regrown. New bone is continuously replacing the old bone in the body, and these two processes - bone utilization and bone growth (also known as bone mineralization) are working simultaneously in the body.

When the body is young, the bone growth occurs at a quick pace, which the bone utilization is at a slow rate. This is the time when the bones get built up, like from infancy to adulthood. When the person reaches about 30 years of age, the bones are at their peak density. This is the time when the bones are considered to be mineralized completely, and they are growing at a much faster rate than they are declining.

After the thirties, a gradual deterioration begins to occur. The bones start declining at a rate faster than they mineralize. This occurs very slowly at first, but declines more and more sharply as the person’s age advances.

It is important to keep in mind that the amount of bone is not constant all through our living years. This is the crux of the development of osteoporosis.

Understanding the Causes of Osteoporosis

The causes of osteoporosis can be grouped in three main categories. We discuss them below.

Loss of bone mass - Bone mass is lost rapidly after the thirties. In some groups of people, the loss of bone mass is much faster than its development. This is seen especially in women when they reach menopause. Estrogen is a very important hormone required for the development of bones in women (also androgen in men). But when the woman reaches menopause, there is a sharp decline in the amount of estrogen. This causes the bones to be malformed, and osteoporosis sets in. This cause is not observed in men. That is the reason why osteoporosis is more commonly observed in elderly women than in men.

Faulty mineralization of bone during younger years - Certain conditions might cause the bones to be formed faultily during childhood and early adolescence. This might happen when the body is deprived of the minerals calcium and phosphates, or if the body is deficient in Vitamin D, which is required to set the metabolism of bone formation into action. Such children will develop osteoporosis when they grow older. This cause of osteoporosis is seen in both men as well as women.

Bone loss due to disease - A lot of medical conditions can lead to the onset of osteoporosis. Eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia can be directly responsible, because they deprive the body of the requisite minerals. A host of other disease can cause osteoporosis as a secondary complication. Some of these diseases are Brown-Sequard Syndrome, celiac disease, Crohn’s Disease, Cushing’s Syndrome, certain kinds of anemia, kidney disease, Menke’s Disease, neuritis, prolactinoma, renal osteodystrophy, ulcerative colitis and Werner Syndrome. Being underweight can also cause osteoporosis in the later years.

Genetic disposition and Age - Osteoporosis can be brought on in some people simply due to advancing age, when the bone mass density decreases. In some people with a family history of osteoporosis, the chances of themselves getting the condition are quite high.

Risks of Osteoporosis

There are several factors that can contribute to an onset of osteoporosis, and some of these can lend the classification of lifestyle disease to osteoporosis. The following are some of these risk factors:-

• Smoking is a risk factor for osteoporosis, because it thwarts the proper activity of the bone development process.
• Alcoholism in excess can bring osteoporosis because it hampers with bone building. However, small amounts of alcohol are good for osteoporosis.
• Most soft drinks are also responsible for this condition if consumed in excess, but this point is debatable.
• People who are underweight or those who try to lose weight rapidly (through diet or otherwise) can develop chances of osteoporosis.
• Exercise is necessary for the proper development and maturation of the bones. People who lead a sedentary lifestyle can become victims of this condition.
• At the same time, over-exercising can cause damages in the bone structure. This may also bring on osteoporosis.
• Some metals like cadmium impair the normal formation of the bone, which can lead to osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis: A Growing Epidemic
The risk factors for osteoporosis are well known. They include being female, over 50, having low estrogen, being thin, having low bone mass, [...]

Osteoporosis - What, Why and Who
Risk factors of osteoporosis are family history, smoking, poor diet, and lack of exercise.

Physical and Lifestyle Risk Factors for Osteoporosis
Family and personal history. This includes family history of osteoporosis, history of fracture on the mother’s side of the family [...]

Technorati Tags: bone health, calcium, disease, effects, osteoporosis, vitamin d