Osteoporosis – Be Concerned and Take Action

Osteoporosis is a major public health problem currently affecting one in two women over the age of 50. It is often referred to as the 'silent epidemic' because bone loss happens gradually over time without any symptoms. Often dismissed as a minor ailment causing brittle bones and occasional breaks, it is a bigger female killer than ovarian, cervical and womb cancers combined. At the moment osteoporosis, remains woefully unrecognised and yet it is preventable and treatable.

The word osteoporosis literally means 'porous bones'. Bones change constantly – being broken down and rebuilt, but problems arise when the rate of renewal does not keep up with the rate of breakdown. When this continues over a period of years, osteoporosis occurs.

With women now living longer than ever they did, potentially 30 to 50 years past the menopause, it is important to plan for the future by keeping in good health and identifying potential risk factors. This is true for women post menopause as well as those much younger for whom lifestyle factors such as smoking, lack of exercise, soft drink consumption and excessive dieting may prevent them even reaching their peak bone mass (around the age of 25 years).

As it easier to prevent a problem from starting than treating it, the benefits of preventative healthcare are enormous. One incredibly important area, and one that is easy to assess and modify is diet.

One of calcium's roles in the body is to act as a neutraliser. When you eat too much acid food your body calls up calcium reserves from your bones to counteract the acidity. The aim then is to make your diet more alkaline by taking a close look at what you are eating and drinking. We know that women who consume the most acid-producing diets have four times as many hip fractures as those whose diets are the least acid producing. One of the most highly acid-forming substances, which cause most calcium to be leached from your bones, is animal protein, particularly in red meat.

On the other hand, plant foods, like vegetables and fruit, are alkaline and reduce acid production. The best way to make your diet more alkaline is simply to aim to have more alkaline-forming (fruit and vegetables) each day than acid (animal protein) and choose good quality animal protein like fish or eggs.

It is also important to watch what you drink as caffeine causes calcium loss, which is excreted through the urine, and soft fizzy drinks will also cause a leeching effect of calcium from the bones.

Because it can be difficult to ensure a balanced diet the use of supplements may be beneficial:

• Calcium – is essential for bone health and not only improves bone density but also reduces the risk of fractures. Choose supplements that contain calcium citrate which is almost 30% more absorbable than calcium carbonate.
• Magnesium – helps to metabolise calcium and converts vitamin D to the active form necessary to ensure that calcium is efficiently absorbed.
• Vitamin D – one of the important 'bone' vitamins as it is responsible for calcium absorption.
• Boron – helps vitamin D to absorb calcium

To avoid having to purchase lots of different supplements, I spent some time formulating a single supplement which contains the most important nutrients for bone health. It is called OsteoPlus and is available from your local health food shop or www.naturalhealthpractice.com

Diet and exercise go hand in hand, and when it comes to bones and exercise, it is definitely a case of 'use it or lose it'. Your skeleton is constantly fighting against gravity, and it is that fight that helps to maintain bone density. So you need to do weight bearing exercises like walking, dancing, jogging, stair climbing, skipping, tennis and badminton. The important thing is to find an exercise you enjoy.

Osteoporosis is a preventable illness but the most important factor is early detection because if you know that your bones are not as strong as they could be, then you can do something about it. The following tests are most commonly used to assess bone health.

1. A DEXA scan (Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry) is a machine that uses two X-ray energy beams simultaneously to measure bone density. However, the process does expose the person to X-rays and is usually fairly expensive.
2. In a Quantitative Ultrasound Scan (QUS) sound waves are passed through the heel (calcaneus) bone to predict those patients who are at risk of fracture. The advantage is that there is no X-ray exposure and is relatively inexpensive. I use an ultrasound bone scanner in the clinic in Tunbridge Wells (see below for contact details).
3. Bone Turnover - Measure biochemical markers in urine that show the rate of bone resorption. If you decide to take HRT or osteoporosis medication and/or have started exercising and taking supplements, this test can tell you whether what you are doing is working.

If you answer 'yes' to any of these below, then you should be tested for osteoporosis as your risk could be higher and it will be key to put a health strategy in place to ensure long term good health:

• Do you have a family history of osteoporosis?
• Have you dieted in the past or suffered from bulimia or anorexia?
• Ever had irregular menstrual cycles?
• Are you post-menopausal?
• Have you taken steroids, heparin or long-term laxatives or antacids?
• Have you had digestive problems such as Crohn's, or Coeliac's?

Dr Marilyn Glenville PhD is the UK's leading nutritionist specialising in female hormone problems. She is President of the Forum for Food and Health at the Royal Society of Medicine and a registered nutritionist. Dr Glenville is the author of a number of internationally best selling books including 'Osteoporosis the Silent Epidemic', New Natural Alternatives to HRT', 'Fat around the Middle' and 'Eating for a Healthy Menopause'. She works in a gynaecology clinic in London and also in Tunbridge Wells. For more in depth information look on Marilyn's website www.marilynglenville.com. If you are interested in a consultation or for bone scanning, you can contact Dr Glenville's clinic on 01892 515905 or by email: health@marilynglenville.com. To obtain OsteoPlus made by The Natural Health Practice, a good 'bone' supplement I use in the clinic, ask your local health food shop or go to www.naturalhealthpractice.com