Preventing Osteoporosis by Incorporating Two Easy Lifestyle Changes

Many people think that once they reach the age of 45 or 50, they will then take steps to prevent getting osteoporosis. That's much too late to begin.

"The right time to start dealing with preventing osteoporosis is as early in life as you can say the word," advises Dr. Michele Curtis, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. "The key to prevention is building up a large `bank account' of strong bones - and the key to strong bones is calcium."

To carry the bank account analogy a little further, you can make deposits into your "strong bones" account until age 35. By that time, you have reached your peak bone density, and from that point forward in life, you begin making withdrawals on the account. The lower your bank account is at age 35, the higher is your risk of developing osteoporosis.

While you cannot increase your bone strength after age 35, you can do two things to maintain whatever bone strength you've built so far - Take calcium supplements, and perform weight-bearing exercise.

The diet of the average American contains about half the calcium needed for strong bones. Men, and those women who haven't yet entered perimenopause, need about 1,000 milligrams per day, while menopausal women need about 1,500 milligrams daily. (That's because during her reproductive years, the estrogen in a woman's system acted to effectively get calcium to her bones.)

Calcium supplements can be very valuable, both in building bone strength early in life and in maintaining what one has later in life.

When should women begin taking supplements?

"Since most women don't get enough calcium in their daily diet, I think women in their 20s and 30s should take calcium supplements," Dr. Curtis says. "I would even suggest it for teens - especially for those teen girls whose diets are notoriously awful."

Although these supplements are marketed under numerous brand names, they come in basically two forms - calcium carbonate and calcium citrate.

How do they differ?

Dr. Curtis says both can be purchased over the counter and both are very effective. Calcium carbonate is economical but tends to cause gas in some people; it needs to be taken with food and is absorbed best when taken in three doses daily. Calcium citrate, which is a bit more expensive, typically causes less gas; one need not take it with food, but it too is best taken in divided doses.

"You might try the less expensive carbonate form first," advises Dr. Curtis. "But most important is finding the form of calcium supplement you like and tolerate well - and then stick with it."

The second part of maintaining bone strength is performing weight-bearing exercise - walking, running, aerobics, or weightlifting (rather than swimming or biking). The main point to remember is that whichever of your bones are bearing the weight of the exercise, those are the bones getting the benefit. So running is great for the bones in your legs, while lifting moderate weights is excellent for the bones of your upper body.

"Don't worry that you'll begin to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger," Dr. Curtis says. "Simply walking on a treadmill or in your neighborhood, and doing some low-impact aerobics with 2-pound weights in your hands will do wonders. Just make such activity part of your everyday routine and you'll be doing your best to keep osteoporosis at bay."

- Courtesy of The University of Texas Health Leader webzine (http://www.healthleader.uthouston.edu)

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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