As we age we are susceptible to a disease known as osteoporosis. We don't have to suffer from it if we do the right things.
Let me explain.
The skeleton is made up of bones. Theses bones contain calcium and other minerals. Our bones are joined by joints, ligaments, tendons and muscles. Our bones also surround structures such as our brain, heart and other organs. They act as protection to our system.
If we were to look at a bone we would notice a hard outer shell and an interior area containing the bone marrow. It is here in the bone marrow that our cells are formed. The cells need nutrition to do their job. The main nutrition they need is calcium. Calcium should be coupled with vitamin D for absorption of calcium.
We start out life with a fairly good bone mass. We take our vitamins and we exercise and eat right and the bone mass stays consistent. We replace our bone at the about the same speed as we lose it. In other words, our bones are made to be broken down and reformed in a process set up in our makeup.
It started in the womb. It was about the third week after conception that bones started to be formed. In the fourth month the skeleton divides into bones for specialized use. Our bones keep growing up into adulthood. Adulthood is around 20 or 30 years.
Osteoporosis starts when our bones become fragile and susceptible to fracture.
Already about 10 million Americans are affected. Of these 10 million 80% are women. It appears that another 12 million women and 10 million men are at risk for osteoporosis. When a person reaches age 50 the odds are that one out of four women and one out of eight men have put themselves at risk for osteoporosis.
It is sad but true that try as much as we do to stop aging we can't. Our bones will age starting in our mid-thirties to old age. What is going on is that our bones keep on forming and breaking down. This is the way we were created.
CELLS
Our bones are made up of three types of cells.
€ Osteoblasts
€ Osteoclasts
€ Osteocytes
All of them are busy making and maintaining bone.
Osteoblasts build the bone by formation
Osteoclasts will remove by chewing the dead cells and destroying them by resorption
Osteocyte forms the connecting network in the mature bone. It sends signals through the bone to activate the joint in its use of muscles and ligaments.
If we were able to see the damage of osteoporosis we would see an image that looks like Swiss cheese. The bone is not as strong as it used to be.
The bones use nutrients. It is up to us to see that the bones get the proper nutrients. This can be done by eating correctly or by supplementation of what we are lacking.
It would be easy if there were a perfect food we could eat. But since we have over used the land we grow our fruits and vegetable on we often have to replace what the land has taken.
The question needs to be asked, what can we do to slow down the damage that will appear as osteoporosis?
Since it doesn't seem that we can do it primarily by eating to get the nutrients, just what type of supplementation are we talking about?
Leslie Beck, Rd has said that osteoporosis is more than a lack of dietary calcium She suggests we also use other minerals and nutrients.
Vitamin D has already been mentioned. This along with the calcium will help in the metabolism and absorption of calcium in the bone. And our bones store calcium for use.
Don't forget your vegetables. They can help in decreasing bone loss.
Some vegetable to be considered are these:
€ Onion
€ Parsley
€ Lettuce
€ Tomato
€ Cucumber
€ Garlic
€ Dill
Don't forget the calcium. It helps in slowing down bone loss. If you don't want to take the tablet be sure you get lots of milk and dairy products. 99% of the calcium you have is found in your skeleton and 1% is found in your blood stream. That is how important it is.
Eat right. Supplement and you should be able to lessen if not completly stop osteoporosis.