Preventing Osteoporosis: 3 Tips for Women’s Wellness
May 10, 2012
Last week as part of women’s wellness month in May, we talked about the disease that is affecting millions of Americans; osteoporosis. (Read part one here) We discussed the causes and likelihood of being diagnosed with this bone disease, but what can you do about it? Here are tips and tricks for preventing the disease that so commonly affects women.
What Can a Woman do to Prevent Osteoporosis?
Just because this condition is common in women does not mean that we shouldn’t combat it in the healthiest way possible. Here are 3 simple tips that can help keep our bones dense:
*Exercise- It has been recommended that adults need at least 30 minutes of activity every day to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Taking the activity a bit further and performing weight-bearing exercises like aerobics, dancing, walking or yoga will help your body resist gravity and stimulate new bone growth. Simple activities like lifting cans of food or using ankle weights when walking can also increase bone strength and overall wellness for women.
*Calcium Intake- Make sure you are supplementing your body with everything it needs to prevent it from using your own bones to fill its calcium needs. Eating foods like sardines with bones, vegetables, and calcium supplements can drastically improve the calcium absorption in your body. Vitamin D is a natural vitamin that is also known to help aid in the absorption of calcium – when vitamin D levels are low, calcium levels seem to decrease at a rapid rate at well. This can be prevented by taking a vitamin E supplement or spending 10 minutes in the sun on a nice day, but don’t forget to protect your skin with a quality sunscreen. Need a good one? Look here.
* Avoid Road Blocks- Everyone has a guilty pleasure but staying away from these bad habits can save you the aches and pains of this degenerative disease. Excess alcohol consumption is directly linked to loss of bone density. Limiting your intake to one glass a day could decrease your chances of getting osteoporosis. Smoking cigarettes is a habit known to many as a cancer-causing habit, but in addition to the damage that can be done in your lungs, smoking can also reduce the effectiveness of estrogen in the body. Lastly, avoid cola drinks. It has been proven that the extra amounts of phosphorous in cola drinks can prevent proper calcium absorption.
Osteoporosis is a degenerative and sometimes debilitating disease, but by keeping an eye on your lifestyle and staying active throughout the years it can be prevented. Remember these tips throughout the rest of women’s wellness month in addition to year-round. Be sure to let us know if you’d like more lifestyle tips to incorporate into your day-to-day routine!
Photo Credit: MikeBaird
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2 Responses to “Preventing Osteoporosis: 3 Tips for Women’s Wellness”
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Thank You Silicon Valley
Osteoporosis can be easily prevented if you just take enough calcium and magnesium on your daily diet. cheese has enough calcium for your daily needs.:,,:’
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Jamey, if only it were as easy as eating cheese! Dairy is not the most easily absorbable form of calcium for most and intolerable for many. Dark leafy greens, like kale, provide 5 times as much calcium as well as many other antioxidants and nutritional benefits. Exercise plays just as important a role in osteoporosis prevention, bone gets laid down when it is stressed in gravity, it’s a MUST! Thanks for your comment!