Osteoporosis: Are You at Risk? 1. Do you eat a diet that is too low in calcium (an intake of less than 1,000 to 1,200 mg a day)?
Yes/No
2. Do you get limited exercise?
Yes/No
3. Do you smoke cigarettes?
Yes/No
4. Do you drink more than one alcoholic beverage a day?
Yes/No
5. Do you normally eat a diet high in salt or animal protein?
Yes/No
6. Have you been taking excessive thyroid medication or high doses of cortisone-based drugs (steroids) for asthma, arthritis or cancer?
Yes/No
7. Do you have a small, thin frame, or are you Caucasian or Asian?
Yes/No
8. Do you have a family history of osteoporosis?
Yes/No
How to Modify Your Risk ● Eat a calcium-rich diet. Have two to three servings of calcium-rich foods each day, such as fat-free dairy products, calcium-fortified juices and green leafy vegetables. Taking supplemental calcium is another positive move. ● Tone your bones. Exercise improves muscle strength, balance, coordination and flexibility, all of which may forestall a fracture from a fall. Tai chi has been shown to build bone, as have weight-bearing exercises (e.g., walking, dancing). ● Commit to quit smoking. Smoking weakens bones by interfering with your body’s use of calcium and vitamin D, both vital for bone strength. ● Limit your alcohol. Excessive alcohol interferes with the absorption of bone-protective nutrients. ● Undo poor dietary habits. Diets high in animal protein can cause calcium to leach out of bones and not be reabsorbed, and too much salt in your diet can flush calcium from your body.
● Talk to your doctor about your meds. A side effect of some medications is that they deplete bone
SUPPLEMENT BENEFIT
mass. See if your doctor can prescribe alternatives or lower doses.
● Have regular bone mineral density testing. This test is the only way to diagnose osteoporosis, and it provides an accurate measurement of your bone health.
Your Wellness Planner From the quizzes, look over diet and lifestyle-oriented risk factors that are within your power to change. Then set specific and attainable wellness goals, an action plan for achieving them and the steps that will make up these action plans. For example, if you’re a smoker, an important health goal is to stop smoking. Your action plan might be to join a smoking-ces-sation cl ass, while steps would be to attend classes each week, toss out your cigarettes, and exercise when you feel like smoking. Use a journal to map your strategy, and focus on one goal at a time.
DOSAGE
9. Are you postmenopausal?
Yes/No
Multivitamin/
mineral tablet
Look for a woman’s formula with vitamins C
and E, D3, plus folic acid and vitamin B12.
Follow label
directions.
10. Did you have an early or surgically induced menopause?
Yes/No
Flaxseed and/
or flax oil
Provides fiber, which reduces the risk of
breast cancer, and lignans, which also have
anti-cancer properties.
3 Tbsp. ground
flaxseed + 1 ,000 to
3,000 mg flax oil
SCORING
Your risk for osteoporosis is low
if you have 0 to 2 yes answers,
moderate if you have 3 or 4, and
high if you have 5 or more. Note: Questions 7 through 10
address risk factors you cannot con-
trol. A yes answer to these questions
may indicate a higher risk.
Folic acid
May protect against cardiovascular disease
and breast cancer.
400 mcg daily (in
most multivitamins)
Calcium
Vital for bone health and strength, particularly
in your osteoporosis-prone years. Take in
a 2: 1 ratio with magnesium.
1,000 to 1,200 mg
daily (in divided doses,
taken with meals)
Vitamin E
May guard against cardiovascular disease.
Between 200 and
400 IU daily
References:
Archives