Is it Possible to Prevent Osteoporosis Naturally?
Osteoporosis is a bone disease that involves the loss of bone tissue. It’s linked to age since menopause and the loss of hormones exposes both men and women to the possibility of suffering from this disease. There are ways to prevent and delay the course of osteoporosis; but in this article, we’ll focus on the ways that can help us to do it naturally. Get to know them!
Osteoporosis: definition and causes
Osteoporosis is a chronic metabolic bone disease. It’s one of the most frequent metabolic conditions. It has an especially high incidence in postmenopausal women.
This disease occurs with the loss of bone tissue. As you can deduce, it comes with an increased risk of fractures. The most common fractures due to the loss of bone density and osteoporosis usually happen in the hip and spine.
The main cause is the loss of hormonal protection after menopause. However, there are many other possible reasons that can lead to this disease. Factors that promote osteopenia, which involves having a low bone density without suffering from osteoporosis yet, are some of those reasons. Other causes are:
- Celiac disease
- Mellitus diabetes
- Chronic alcoholism
- Smoking
- Monoclonal gammopathy
- Kidney failure, both acute and chronic
- Vitamin D and calcium deficiency due to malnutrition
Ways to prevent osteoporosis naturally
The prevention of osteoporosis is one of the most frequent reasons for consultation in endocrinology. This disease is especially frequent in women who have gone through menopause since estrogen is a protective factor against the loss of bone density. However, as we age, the incidence of osteoporosis increases for both genders.
For women, doctors use hormone replacement therapy with estrogen to prevent the loss of bone density. This is because, as we already mentioned, estrogen has the ability to protect against this loss.
They may also prescribe certain drugs for both genders; however, this is only in very specific cases. It’s best to opt for natural options that are equally effective and have no unpleasant side effects.
In the following sections, we’ll list the most appropriate ways to prevent osteoporosis naturally through supplementation and lifestyle habits.
Supplementation to prevent osteoporosis
Remember that calcium is the main constituent of bones, and vitamin D helps the calcium present in our blood to mineralize and become bone tissue. Therefore, it’s easy to deduce that supplements with calcium and vitamin D will help us prevent osteoporosis.
That’s usually the first strategy for patients who can potentially suffer from this disease; it’s a great natural way to increase their bone density. In any case, it’s common knowledge that the maximum absorption of calcium happens at a young age, between 25 and 30 years.
Food and rest
Living a healthy life, both in our diet and rest, is the best way to prevent future osteoporosis. A balanced and healthy diet will allow us to obtain all the nutrients we need. Calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium are some of them; they’re very important in bone metabolism.
On the other hand, ensuring adequate rest is also important to keep our hormonal system healthy for as long as possible. This is especially important in women since it prolongs the activity of estrogen. In men, testosterone increases bone mineralization and promotes increased bone density.
Strength training to prevent osteoporosis
Physical exercise allows us to reach a peak level of bone mineralization. This helps our bones to be in the best condition for a longer time. Strength training is especially effective for this purpose.
This type of training increases the natural levels of testosterone and growth hormone, two anabolic hormones that increase muscle and bone mass.
On top of that, strength training also helps our joints. This means it has a protective role against possible future fractures.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
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- Rosen CJ. The Epidemiology and Pathogenesis of Osteoporosis [Internet]. Endotext. MDText.com, Inc.; 2000 [cited 2019 Oct 15]. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25905357
- Lozano JA. Offarm [Internet]. Vol. 22, Offarm. Doyma; 2003 [cited 2019 Oct 15]. 79-84 p. Available from: https://www.elsevier.es/es-revista-offarm-4-articulo-osteoporosis-prevencion-tratamiento-13049109