Overcoming Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis affects millions of Americans. Both men and women suffer from this condition. However, women suffer from it much more often. Osteoporosis is the state of diminished bone mass that leads very often to bone fractures in the hip and wrist, as well as to the collapse of spinal vertebrae. This can be a very painful and sometimes fatal condition.
There were 250,000 hip fractures in the United States in 1990 alone. There were nearly 50,000 deaths due to complications within six months of the fracture. About the same number of people cannot walk unassisted because of it and another 50,000 need nursing home care. Osteoporosis can ruin your life. By the year 2010 it is expected that there will be over 1 million hip fractures in this country as the baby boomers begin to reach retirement age.
Osteoporosis is a major challenge for our society and to you as an individual. The good news is that there are very powerful but simple ways to stop the ravages of osteoporosis from ruining your life. With increased education, new research and a better awareness of how to prevent this condition through natural means all of us can entertain the hope of aging without dangerous bone lose.
What Causes Osteoporosis?
Although the lowering of estrogen levels after menopause is said to cause bone lose in women, the state of post-menopause should not in and of itself cause osteoporosis. This condition is brought about by a variety of elements. Dr. Ralph Golan in Optimal Wellness lists a number of possible causes:
- Inadequate amounts of ovarian and adrenal hormones;
- Lack of weight-bearing exercise or excessive exercise that stops the menstrual cycle;
- Inadequate consumption of calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, copper, boron, silicon, and vitamins C, B-6, D and K;
- Decreased gastrointestinal absorption of nutrients;
- Inadequate stomach acid;
- Urinary excretion of calcium brought about by the over consumption of sugars, caffeine, alcohol, phosphoric acid from soft drinks and aluminum from antacids and cookware;
- Smoking.
Other factors that make it more likely for people to develop osteoporosis include small body frames, being Asian or Caucasian and aging itself is considered a major factor in the development of the disease. Without treatment, men and women lose 1 percent to 3 percent of their bone mass each year after age 50. Thus, as life expectations increase, osteoporosis is likely to become even more prevalent unless preventive measures are taken.
Total bone mass is also a consideration. Bone mass peaks in woman between the ages of thirty and thirty-five. The denser and larger the bones are in adulthood the less debilitating will the bone loss be as we age. Family predisposition and inadequate nutrition during teenage years can also be significant factors in the cause of weakening bones. Women who either have had early menopause or had their ovaries surgically removed before the age of 45, without receiving estrogen treatment, also are more likely to develop the condition.
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