Prevention Of Osteoporosis
How can I prevent osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis prevention is, perhaps, the most important thing because we don't have a cure. With osteoporosis you can't determine who your parents are and what genes you get but you can have good nutrition including adequate calcium and vitamin D. You can take care of any hormone deficiencies like oestrogen deficiency which can be present even at a younger age. You can avoid heavy alcohol use. You can avoid heavy tobacco use. You can do weight bearing and avoid lying in bed all day long. Those are the things that you can do to try to prevent osteoporosis. In some instances medications are necessary.
Does my diet affect my chances of developing osteoporosis?
When you're a growing child and your skeleton is developing – your height, as well as the amount of bone that you have – you need an adequate amount of calcium and vitamin D. If you're completely restricted, it's likely you'll have somewhat less bone than you should have, and be at risk of osteoporosis.
Can vitamins help prevent osteoporosis?
Of course everyone should have all the essential vitamins, but the most important in preventing osteoporosis is vitamin D. With vitamin D deficiency, you cannot absorb calcium and phosphorus adequetly. Both are components of bone mineral.
Why is exercise important to osteoporosis prevention?
Exercise, per se, is not a major way of increasing bone. It does to some extent in growing children. But exercise, which in a sense is the avoidance of lying in bed, is very important because bed rest or immobilization in bed is very dangerous for the skeleton. There's a considerable loss of bone if one stays in bed, which can lead to osteoporosis. Now generally people don't choose to stay in bed. But the point is that simply walking every day is adequate exercise to prevent osteoporosis because you're not lying in bed all day.
How does estrogen deficiency cause osteoporosis?
Oestrogen deficiency is the most common problem in post-menopausal women who choose these days, in great numbers, not to take oestrogen. And low oestrogen levels result in a breakdown of bone at a greater rate than normal. This, over time, results in enough bone loss to reach the level of osteoporosis and then, possibly, symptoms of osteoporosis.
How does testosterone deficiency cause osteoporosis?
When dealing with the prevention of osteoporosis, testosterone deficiency in males strangely enough is also associated with estrogen deficiency. In males, testosterone, which is in a much larger amount than in women, is converted to estrogen. So, after testosterone is in the blood, it gets converted to estrogen. Believe it or not, estrogen is extremely important in men in preserving bone, just as it is in women.
What is "estrogen replacement therapy"?
"Oestrogen replacement therapy" is the term used for a therapy given to women who reach the menopause and they suffer symptoms of oestrogen deficiency, like hot flushes, and are given a relatively modest amount of oestrogen replacement therapy to correct this deficiency and relieve the symptoms. At the same time, oestrogen replacement therapy prevents the bone loss from oestrogen deficiency. In women that have a uterus they also have to be given a hormone called progesterone or a later substance when receiving oestrogen replacement therapy because oestrogen alone will over stimulate the uterus.
What is "testosterone replacement therapy"?
When dealing with the prevention of osteoporosis, Testosterone replacement therapy is given to the man who has inadequate testosterone and symptoms from that. The symptoms are not generally identical to those of women who have estrogen deficiency. In men, muscle weakness may be prominent. Men gain more fat and lose some muscle and feel weak, of course. Occasionally men may have hot flashes because they also have low estrogen levels; therefore replacing the hormone in such an individual is very important. Additionally, it also helps protect bone. However, the use of estrogen replacement is done much less frequently than estrogen replacement for women.
Is there an alternative to estrogen and testosterone replacement therapy?
Fortunately, there's an alternative to oestrogen replacement and testosterone replacement for those that do not wish to take hormone therapy. There are drugs which stop bone loss but they're not hormones.
How effective are osteoporosis prevention measures?
When dealing with the prevention of osteoporosis, it is my opinion that prevention of osteoporosis is one of the most effective things that a doctor can do for a patient, far more effective than even preventing heart attacks, I believe. We have a number of medications, or even hormones which can clearly stop bone loss, and if you can catch the individual in a state where the bones are not terribly deteriorated; there should be no problem for the future.
