Lifestyle and Diet on Osteoporosis

Affect Of Lifestyle and Diet on Osteoporosis

It is widely known that there is no permanent cure for osteoporosis. The condition for osteoporosis can only be prevented from deteriorating at a fast rate. Taking adequate measures and building strong bones in the young age is probably the best defense against osteoporosis. Proper lifestyle and diet for osteoporosis should be charted out with the help of the physician to avoid the ill affects of osteoporosis.

Only slight modifications in lifestyle and diet can do wonders in prevention as well as cure of osteoporosis. There is no single measure to prevent osteoporosis but a combination of various lifestyle and diet modifications can help keep osteoporosis at bay.

Reduce Your Risk of Osteoporosis

Although the occurrence of osteoporosis is quite high in women; old people, men and children are also not immune to osteoporosis. The affect of diet and lifestyle on osteoporosis is outlined below:

• Exercise: Regular exercise is said reduce the risk of osteoporosis to a great extent. Simple aerobic exercises such as walking, jogging, and swimming are always prescribed by physicians for the general toning of your body. Optimum impact of these exercises can make your bones and muscles stronger. The impact of these exercises depends on the time for which you exercise and the exercise program you follow. You must properly discuss your exercise regime with your physician because it should vary with your age and other body requirements.
• Smoking: People who smoke regularly are found to be at a greater risk of osteoporosis. It is believed that smoking reduces the absorption of calcium from your diet. Lower levels of estrogen are found in women who smoke as compared to the women who don’t smoke. Hence, you must modify your lifestyle to avoid smoking as far as possible.
• Alcohol consumption: Lifestyle of many people includes consumption of 2 to 3 ounces of alcohol everyday. Apart from depleting you from essential nutrients, it also increases your risk of falling, and hence fractures. This in turn, may increase the risk of osteoporosis.
• Proper diet: Calcium is needed for bone formation but it is more important to maintain calcium in proper proportion to avoid osteoporosis. Magnesium is responsible for absorption of calcium. Diet rich in calcium must be compensated with diets rich in magnesium to maintain proper balance of these minerals. Your diet must include nuts and green leafy vegetables as they are found to be a good source of both calcium and magnesium. Junk foods must also be avoided because they contain phosphorus in good amount, which can disturb the ratio of calcium and phosphorus in the bones. You must also include seeds and yellow vegetables in your diet. Also try to consume a proper amount of vitamin D because it also helps in absorption of calcium.
• Avoid excess of salt: Increased amount of sodium can result in wastage of calcium through urine.
• Avoid animal protein: Animal protein such as meat and cheese are capable of disturbing the acid balance of our body. This increases the calcium requirement in your body. This calcium is then taken from your bones thereby depleting calcium from bones. Plenty of fruits and vegetables should be consumed to maintain the acid balance