Health and Fitness Journal

Can you prevent osteoporosis?

While we tend to think of osteoporosis as an old woman’s disease, the fact is that preventing the disease starts at a far younger age. In fact, building strong bones before the age of 30 is considered to be the best defense against developing osteoporosis. Maintaining a healthy life style is very important in keeping your bones strong.

In most cases, medical studies have shown that osteoporosis is largely a preventable disease. Preventing the disease is important because while there are treatments for osteoporosis, there is no cure. There are several steps that you can take to help prevent osteoporosis:

•  Get your daily recommended amounts of calcium and vitamin D. Calcium can be found in foods such as milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, navy beans, almonds, shrimp, broccoli, and oranges. Vitamin D does not come naturally in very many foods, but can be added to foods. These foods with vitamin D added are called fortified foods. Foods that naturally contain vitamin D include milk, salmon, and tuna.

•  Avoid smoking and excessive alcohol. Both can limit the amounts of calcium and vitamin D that your body takes in, and deprive it of essential nutrients. Not to mention they can cause other problems such as lung disease and liver disease.

• Engage in regular weight-bearing exercise. This doesn’t mean you need to bench press your body weight. Light weights and weight bearing exercise can help keep your muscles and your bones healthy and in shape.

•  Talk to your doctor about bone health. Ask him or her about other tips that they might have for you, and find out what your risk factors are.

• As you get older, you should have a bone density test done to see where you are at. If you fall below what you should have, or are dangerously close, there are still things you can do to help prevent or minimize the effects of osteoporosis. In some cases you may need to take medication.

Following just one of the above steps alone will not prevent osteoporosis, but following all of the recommended steps can put you in a better position to prevent yourself from getting it.

Comments are off for this post

Colds usually aren’t serious, but often times leaves those who contract it feeling miserable. Occassionally, what might be considered a simple common cold can develop into something much more serious, especially in those with weakened immune systems or those who are very young or elderly. Therefore, it is in the best interest of all to find ways to combat the spread of the common cold. Read more

Comments are off for this post

Human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, is transmitted by several means, including: sexual contact with an infected person, needle sharing amongst drug users, and through transfusions of infected blood or blood clotting factors. The latter is less common these days in countries that screen blood for HIV antibodies. HIV can also be transmitted to babies by HIV-infected mothers before or during birth, as well as through breast feeding after birth. Read more

No comments