Osteoporosis: 10 Ways to Protect Your Bones

Osteoporosis is a silent killer. Many people do not know they have osteoporosis until they have a fracture, sometimes due to just a slight fall. In fact, up to 70 per cent of people who suffer from osteoporosis are not diagnosed.

Osteoporosis, which means porous bones, causes bones to be weak and brittle. Bones can become so brittle that even coughing, or lifting shopping bags, can cause a fracture. Women have a higher risk of osteoporosis than men. To begin with, women have a lower bone mass than men. After menopause, a woman’s oestrogen levels drop sharply, accelerating bone loss. However, osteoporosis should not be thought of as a woman’s condition. Men can suffer from the condition, and those who have low levels of the male hormone testosterone have a higher risk of osteoporosis.

Other risk factors:
 
- Previous fractures through normal falls (not involving violent force such as in car accidents)
- Early menopause (before 45 years of age)
- Family history of osteoporosis
- Small and slender body frame
- Smoking
- Excessive consumption of alcohol
- Inactive lifestyle
- Inadequate calcium and vitamin D in diet
- Certain illness such as rheumatoid arthritis or hyperactive thyroid
- Medication such as steroids (oral or injected)

From birth, our bodies continuously build bone mass until we are in our 30s when it peaks. So, is it too late to do anything about our bones once we are over that age? Not so, says Dr Manju Chandran, Director of the Osteoporosis and Bone Metabolism Unit (Department of Endocrinology) at Singapore General Hospital. She says, “Even though we reach our peak bone mass in our mid-30s, we should still aim to reduce bone loss and encourage new bone growth. It is only when bone loss is greater than new bone growth that osteoporosis sets in.”

How can you protect your bones and prevent osteoporosis? Here are ten ways:

1. Eat enough calcium and Vitamin D
Calcium is important for preventing bone loss. For adults between the ages of 19 and 50, a daily intake of 1,000mg of calcium is recommended. Those who are 65 and older should eat at least 700mg of calcium a day. Good sources of calcium include milk, cheese, certain vegetable greens and calcium-fortified food such as juices, cereals and breads.

For our bodies to absorb the calcium, vitamin D is required. Those who are above 50 years of age should aim to have an intake of between 400 and 800 IU of vitamin D daily. Apart from getting vitamin D from our food, another good source is sunlight. Our skin makes vitamin D from the ultra violet light (UVB) in sunlight and stores it for later use.

2. Eat a balanced diet
Eating a balanced diet ensures you get enough phosphorus and other minerals, like magnesium, vitamin K, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 that are also essential for healthy bones.

3. Limit your alcohol intake
Alcohol is thought to decrease bone formation and reduce the body’s ability to absorb calcium. So keep to two drinks a day or less.

4. Moderate your intake of caffeine
Caffeine, found naturally in coffee and tea, ‘leeches’ calcium from our bones. So it is best to keep to two to three cups of coffee or tea a day, especially if you do not eat enough calcium. Also keep in mind that caffeine is often added to soft drinks.

5. Cut down on salty food
Eating too much sodium can inhibit absorption of calcium in our bodies.

6. Do weight-bearing and strengthening exercises
Weight-bearing exercises make our bones stronger and denser. Exercises such as dancing, jogging and rope jumping are all weight-bearing exercises. To strengthen our bones, try weight lifting, weight machines and elastic bands. For those who cannot do high impact exercises, low impact exercises such as walking, low impact aerobics or exercising on cross-training machines are alternatives.

7. Improve your balance and flexibility
Better balance and flexibility will reduce your risk of falls. Exercises such as tai chi, pilates and yoga improve balance and flexibility.

8. Maintain a healthy weight
A low body weight increases the risk of osteoporosis, as does a previous history of anorexia nervosa. But this does not mean that heavier people don’t get osteoporosis. Having a normal weight is beneficial for general health and reduces the risk of other chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.

9. Don’t smoke
Smoking is thought to increase bone loss by reducing the absorption of calcium in our bodies. In women, smoking may reduce the amount of oestrogen produced.

10. Consult a doctor if you have lost height over the years
All of us lose some of our height as we grow older, but if you lose 6cm or more, there is a high chance you may have osteoporosis. It is advisable to consult a doctor, especially if you belong to the high-risk group.

Calculate your risk:
For post-menopausal women, there is an easy formula to calculate the risk of osteoporosis. Called osteoporosis self-assessment tool (OSTA), it subtracts a woman’s weight from her age to get a risk score, i.e. age (years) – weight (kilograms). The risk scores are as follows: