Does PCOS Go Away After Menopause?
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common women’s health condition with many unpleasant and disruptive symptoms. What many women with PCOS don’t know is that symptoms can persist even after menopause.
Osteoporosis Prevention: Strategies to Keep Your Bones Healthy as You Age
Osteoporosis is a common bone health issue that affects about 54 million Americans. It also causes more than 2 million broken bones each year, a number that’s expected to rise in the coming decade as the baby boomer generation ages.
May is Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month, an opportunity to shed some light on what osteoporosis is and how to reduce your risk as you age.
In this blog, Dr. Saka Kazeem and the team at Elk Medical in New York City share some information on bone health to help you create a plan to prevent osteoporosis.
What’s osteoporosis, and why does it matter?
Your bones are living tissue. Your body constantly generates new bone tissue and eliminates old bone tissue. Bones, while strong, have a honeycomb-like interior structure, filled with small openings and webs of bone tissue.
Osteoporosis happens when your body’s ability to create new bone tissue can’t keep pace with the natural loss of bone tissue. That causes the openings in your bones to grow, weakening the overall structural integrity of your bones over time.
A big issue with osteoporosis is that these changes are gradual and don’t present a clear set of symptoms. The first sign you have osteoporosis is often a broken bone.
Nutrition is critical to bone health and osteoporosis prevention
The good news is you can reduce your risk of osteoporosis by slowing bone loss over time. Paying close attention to your nutrition is a great place to begin.
Getting enough calcium is a crucial part of bone health. You can consume calcium-rich foods, such as dairy products, leafy greens, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. Choosing foods fortified with calcium also helps. Consider supplements if you don’t get enough calcium from your diet.
Vitamin D is also essential for bone health, and most Americans are deficient. That’s because your body manufactures vitamin D when your skin is exposed to sunlight.
Depending on where you live, you may not get enough sun. Wearing sunscreen and working indoors can also contribute to insufficient sun exposure. It’s easy to boost your levels with supplements.
Choosing foods that contain bones (like canned fish) or making or purchasing bone broth is also a great way to increase calcium intake, and they provide numerous other health benefits.
Add moderate-impact exercise to your routine
Bone tissue requires stimulation to stay healthy and strong. The best way to stimulate your bone tissue is with weight-bearing, flexibility, and moderate-impact exercise.
You don’t need to run a marathon or achieve circus-like flexibility to see results. Walking, yoga, dancing, and using resistance bands for strength training are all wonderful options. You can even get the exercise you need by doing household tasks, as long as you do them vigorously.
Make healthy lifestyle changes
If you smoke, quitting the habit can dramatically improve your bone health. Smoking also causes or exacerbates a wide range of other health problems.
Drinking heavily can also take a toll on your bone health. New guidance suggests that no amount of alcohol consumption is good for your health, and many people are working toward an alcohol-free lifestyle. But even cutting back a bit can help support healthy bones.
To learn more about your bone density and what you can do to prevent osteoporosis, meet with us to discuss bone density testing and prevention techniques. Call our office in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood or schedule your appointment online today.
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