Avoiding Osteoporosis
Women - and men - can fend off bone-thinning osteoporosis by being aggressive about eating well, taking calcium and vitamin D supplements, and doing regular weight-bearing exercise, says Dr. Alan Gibstein, an expert on women's issues. "Since all women lose calcium after age 30, they need to do everything they can to keep what they have. Men, too," says Gibstein, who is an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the New York University College of Medicine and a teacher at the Long Island Jewish North Shore Health Care System. The stereotype is that osteoporosis is a disease of older women. But the reality is that the disorder is a significant threat to more than 2 million American men.
In terms of calcium-rich items to include in one's diet, Gibstein particularly singles out dairy products, especially those that are vitamin D fortified; leafy green vegetables; seafood; nuts; and lean meats. He also advocates an exercise regimen that involves working one's bones and muscles against gravity (not water exercises), low-impact aerobics and daily supplements of calcium and vitamin D. Good weight-bearing exercises include walking, jogging, racquet sports, stair climbing, lifting weights and using resistance machines.
Regarding supplements, Gibstein counseled older women, whose bone-calcium loss accelerates after menopause, to take significantly more calcium daily than younger women. "Women should take 1200 milligrams daily calcium from age 35 to 40 and increase to 1500 milligrams after menopause," he says.
Menopausal and post-menopausal women should also take 200-600 International Units of vitamin D a day - or get 10-15 minutes a day of exposure to sunlight, which triggers a chemical reaction that manufactures vitamin D in the skin.
Calcium supplements, Gibstein says, are available in a variety of dosage and type of salts %u2013 carbonate, citrate, pantothenate and phosphate. "There is no difference in efficacy," he says. "Since calcium is absorbed into our blood when we sleep, under the influence of parathyroid hormone, the majority of daily calcium should be taken at night."
In addition, Gibstein says, osteoporosis can be made more severe by smoking, heavy alcohol drinking, a sedentary lifestyle, poor nutrition and various steroid and immunosuppressive medications.
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