Fighting Off Osteoporosis

How To Prevent Osteoporosis?
1. Healthy Diet:
The sufficient intake of calcium is necessary to prevent the risk of osteoporosis, one can do this by eating calcium rich foods or by taking in calcium supplements as per the doctor’s advice. On an average it is recommended that a person’s dietary intake of calcium should be at least 1000 mg in amount by the WHO ( World Health Organization ).

Calcium Requirement:
Pregnant and lactating women require around 1200 mg per day, Babies require 220 mg to 300mg of calcium every day.
Young children between the age if 1 to 3 have a calcium requirement of 500 mgs per day.
Children between the age group of 4 to 8 have a calcium requirement of 800 mgs per day.
Growing from the age of 9 to 18 require 1300 mgs of calcium daily.
For people over 50 the standard recommendation is 1200 mgs.
Note: More Than 2500 mgs of calcium per day may increase the risk of kidney stones, many commercial food items may contain more than the recommended dose of the daily calcium requirement.

Suggested Diet / Calcium Fortified Diets:
A 1000 mg of calcium can be found in the following diets / Suggested diet for the right quantity of calcium intake:
2 slices of rye bread or whole grain bread + 2 slices of gouda, edam or emmental cheese + 1 serving of broccoli + 2 glasses of mineral water + 1 pot of yoghurt (200 g).
Or
2 glasses of milk (200 ml each) + 2 slices of rye bread or whole grain bread + 2 servings of camembert cheese + 1 serving of spinach leaves.
Or
1 pot of yoghurt (200 g) + 1 serving of muesli (50 g) + with milk (100 ml) + 1 slice of rye bread or whole grain bread + 1 slice of gouda, edam or emmental cheese + 1 serving of green cabbage + 1 glass of mineral water.
A 1300 mg of calcium can be found in the following diets :
1 big pot of yoghurt (500 g) or half a litre of milk + 2 slices of rye bread or whole grain bread + 2 slices of gouda, edam or emmental cheese + 1 serving of spinach leaves or green cabbage + 1 glass of mineral water.

Foods That Are Rich In Calcium:
Dairy products – Milk, yoghurt, cheese of all kinds,
Vegetables – Broccoli, spinach, green cabbage, green peas, okra, white beans , baked beans , brussel sprouts. bok choy, sesame seeds, almonds, collard greens, almonds , rhubarb.
Breads and Muesli – Rye bread. ,whole grain bread ,breakfast cereal, muesli
Fish – Salmon and sardines.
Drinks – Mineral water, Soy milk.
Vitamin D – Vitamin D is necessary for the absorption of calcium, and it protects the body from osteoporosis and strengthens only in combination with calcium. Vitamin D can be taken as a dietary supplement and it is naturally obtained from the ultra violet rays of the sun .
Vitamin K – Vitamin K is generally found in green leafy vegetables that help to prevent the breakage of bones, also Vitamin K2 is a form of Vitamin K which is now proving the to help in the prevention of fractures for those suffering with osteoporosis.
Other Vitamins – The other vitamins that rae useful for the body to remain healthy are Vitamin C , E, and A.

2. Maintain A Healthy Lifestyle:
Maintaining a healthy life style reduces the risk of osteoporosis , for example getting proper bed rest, sleeping well and not skipping your meals, avoiding junk food which generally contains saturated fat. women should prevent the use of oral contraceptives that results in the loss of bone tissue or a low bone density. Smoking should definitely not be a part of a healthy lifetsyle , the consumption of alcohol should be prevented as well.

3. Exercise Regularly: Exercising the body on a regular basis is healthy habit, even more so for people who have been affected with the bone disease of osteoporosis, however it is important to note that mild exercise does not help the body too much,.Moderate exercise for at least 90 minutes a week broken in three days may help up to an extent , but those with a healthier frame must try to work out their body more if possible. Those osteoporosis patients, who are not in the habit of exercising should consult a doctor and go for a general health check up before beginning a strenuous exercising regime. It is advisable for children to start exercising before adolescence as it results in the increase of bone mass which continues till the age of 20 to 30.

4. Educate yourself about Osteoporosis:
The main reason why people are affected by osteoporosis is because of their lack of knowledge regarding the disease or the lack of knowledge regarding the prevention of the disease. Therefore it is important to go online and get adequate information or one may can even consult a physical therapist.

5. Get Tested:
Diagnostic testing will always help detect the disease of osteoporosis , it is advisable to consult endocrinologist or rheumatologist for the correct treatment . and it is best to consult one after relevant research on who is a better expert on osteoporosis.