Osteoporosis: Exercise & Other Prevention Tips

Osteoporosis or bone thinning is an important issue for pre-menopausal and post menopausal women.  When I found out I was one inch shorter, I couldn't believe it.  I told the nurse who measured me that there must be a mistake.  I raced home to measure for myself.  Even when I saw it with my own eyes, it took me a week to accept that I had lost an inch of height.  It's not like losing or gaining weight.  You really get a smack of reality, that life is really passing and you're getting 'older'.

I happen to be a 'no meds' person so I'm always looking at which alternatives work best to maintain my well being including having strong bones.  When I write my own 'prescription' for a happier and healthier life, it includes weight bearing exercise, yoga, qi gong, meditation or lying still, share, care, smile, laugh and stay happy.

In the April 2007 issue of Alternative Medicine Magazine, the article titled "Bones of  Contention" sheds more light on the bone loss issue.  James Keough explains how pharmaceutical companies are playing on our fears of bone density loss leading to osteoporosis.  Well you know they want us to buy their products so what do you expect.  It's in their interest, not ours, that they keep us in a state of fear.

The article tells you how to offset your risk of hip fracture (which can lead to immobility, pneumonia, and decline into death), by exercising and eating wisely now. Keough goes on to say:

"Losing bone mass might be an inescapable aspect of getting older, and fragility fractures are certainly a hazard in old age, but bone loss needn't lead to a fracture."  Susan Brown jokes that we could cut hip fractures in half if we could get everyone to die five years earlier. The obvious (and far more attractive) alternative is to figure out how to keep people strong. "The message to individuals," she says, is if you want to live long, take care of your infrastructure."

The obvious first step is to find ways to avoid or minimize the lifestyle bone robbers. Quit smoking, drink in moderation, cut back on caffeine, reduce the stress in your life (or practice meditation or yoga), and stop trying to lose those last five pounds. You can't do everything on your own, however. Countering the effects of prescription drugs and endocrine disorders requires working with your healthcare provider to find alternatives and root causes–attempting that by yourself is simply too risky.

The second step involves getting off the couch and into your exercise or yoga clothes. Your body works on a demand and supply basis when it comes to bones–if your muscles and tendons put stress on your bones, your body will respond by strengthening them.

Reducing your intake of meat, dairy, sugars and other acid-forming foods will create an internal environment that can strenghthen bones as well. Twenty minutes of sun exposure daily (without sunscreen, wow!) and maintaining healthy vitamin D levels are vitally important.

Amy Cunningham, who used to blog at Beliefnet's, Chattering Mind and who herself is concerned about women's health issues said:

Supplements are important since it is hard to get what you need through an ordinary diet. But I don't want to advise you here. It Is important to get your Vitamin D levels tested. Check out Dr Mercola's site where you can find out more about Vit D requirements.

Calcium is needed too for absorption. But remember that in addition to supplements, you can get calcium from greens vegetables (the usefulness of lots of dairy is being debated). This subject is so vitally important. Don't forget to exercise! Vit D levels are currently recommended to be 400 IUs daily, but because our sun exposure (that 20 minutes of FULL BODY sun exposure) and dietary sources are so low 1200 to 1600 is now recommended. VIT D2 was actually recalled by the dairy industry because as a synthetic vitamin it actually promotes bone loss. D3 is the vitamin we want-the natural one found in cod liver oil.

You can learn more on bone loss and how to strengthen your bones naturally at Women to Women.

Technorati Tags: Alternative Medicine, bone loss, calcium, exercise, osteoporosis, strength training, vitamin D