Natural
Medicine for Osteoporosis:
Nutrients, Exercise and a Healthy Lifestyle
As you age, it’s
only natural that your body would tend to be more fragile in all
respects. Your bones are no exception to the inevitable effects
of aging. One of the expected conditions of bone aging is osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is a disease of bone tissue deterioration, usually
after the age of 50, leading to fragile bones and fractures. Osteoporosis
fractures are often seen in the spine, wrist, and hip, but any bone
can be affected by the deterioration of osteoporosis. The best natural
medicine for osteoporosis is optimizing bone health at all times
during your life, from youth to old age.
Maintaining bone
health can be accomplished fairly easily, but this natural medicine
for osteoporosis only works when you diligently follow a set of
healthy lifestyle choices. Building strong bones is a day-by-day
process requiring commitment to the following steps:
- Consume enough calcium, vitamin
D, and vitamin K
- Do not smoke and avoid excessive
alcohol
- Get regular exercise, especially
weight-bearing and muscle-strengthening exercise
If everyone followed
the advice of natural medicine for osteoporosis, it could help a
multitude of people avoid this painful, disabling disease. In the
United States, about 8 million women and 2 million men have osteoporosis.
Another 34 million are thought to have low bone mass. Women are
particularly susceptible to osteoporosis because they can lose up
to 20 percent of their bone mass within 7 years after menopause.
Getting the correct
amount of calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin K is an important part
of natural medicine for osteoporosis. It is generally recommended
that people over the age of 50 should get 1,200 mg of calcium a
day and 400 IU of vitamin D per day. Over the age of 70, vitamin
D intake should increase to 600 IU a day. Vitamin K deficiencies
are rare but you should ensure you consume enough vitamin K by eating
plenty of spinach, cabbage, other green leafy vegetables, soybeans,
and cereals.
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