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While Osteoarthritis is a painful condition, Osteoporosis isn't. Osteoporosis silently sneaks up on you, and then snaps your bones like twigs - literally. The broken bones, also called fractures, will occur in vital areas of the body, such as the hip, spine, and wrist. Hip fractures require hospitalization and surgery, and people can actually die from broken hips simply because it impairs one's ability to mobilize.
Fractures of the spine, caused by Osteoporosis will make you shorter - but that is the very least of your worries. It also causes severe back pain, and deformity. At this point, Osteoporosis is no longer silent, and no longer silent.
Unfortunately, millions of people are at risk, with women having a risk factor four times greater than that of men. Osteoporosis currently affects an estimated 44 million Americans - specifically 55% of Americans who are aged 50 or older. That's more than half. The question that seems to be on many people's minds is ‘which half will I be in?'Furthermore, estrogen deficiency, such as that created by menopause, is a major contributor to the disease. This is especially true for women who have hysterectomy's, which is surgically induced menopause, and women who experience natural early menopause. Women often lose up to 20 percent of the bone mass within the first five to seven years after the onset of menopause. This is a very real problem and concern for women of all ages.
While there is no cure for Osteoporosis, there is a way to possibly prevent it, or greatly slow down the progression of the disease. Extensive studies have been done, and specific combinations of natural ingredients have been determined to do this very thing. These natural nutrients include Glucosamine, MSM, Ipriflavone, Zinc, and Vitamins C and K1.
Glucosamine stimulates the building blocks of cartilage, specifically glycosaminoglycans and proteoglycans. MSM, which is Methyl Sulfonyl Methane, supports joint health. Ipriflavone improves the density of bones, even if one is not taking calcium supplements, or getting enough calcium in their diets. Of course, Zinc and Vitamins C and K1 are also effective in building and retaining joint health.
Many women take calcium supplements, thinking that this is enough to protect them against Osteoporosis. They couldn't be more wrong! While calcium does help, it needs to work with these other nutrients to be effective. However, these nutrients can get the job done just as well without the added benefit of calcium.
What you should look for is a liquid supplement that contains the proper mixture of Glucosamine, MSM, Ipriflavone, Zinc, and vitamins C and K1 to help prevent or digress Osteoporosis. Through extensive scientific studies, it has proven to improve the flexibility of joints, decrease joint pain, stimulate the regrowth of cartilage, and potentially improves connective tissues.
Even women who have not yet experienced menopause can benefit greatly from working to prevent Osteoporosis now. Waiting until you have Osteoporosis to start trying to prevent it isn't very effective - and waiting until Menopause to start worrying about Osteoporosis won't help either. You need to start defending against this debilitating disease today!
For decades, we've known that a woman's risk of osteoporosis increases if she is white or Asian, 50 years or older, thin or have small frame, consume diet low in calcium and vitamin D, smoke, or drink too much alcohol. What was not known until recently is how fast and widespread bone loss occur in postmenopausal women. New statistics have medical experts scrambling for answers.
In United States, osteoporosis and low bone mass are now believed to be a major public health threat for 44 million Americans aged 50 and older. By 2010, that number is expected to increase to over 52 million. Nearly half of all women and a quarter of men aged 50 and older will suffer an osteoporosis-related fracture in their remaining lifetime.
Currently, the disease affects an estimated ten million Americans - eight million women and two million men. Another 34 million Americans, most of whom are women, have low bone mass, placing them at increased risk of osteoporosis. In addition, osteoporosis is responsible for 1.5 million fractures, and the direct health care costs associated with these fractures are estimated at $18 billion per year. That's right; billion with a "B".
Hip fractures account for 300, 000 hospitalizations each year. About 20% of senior citizens who suffer a hip fracture die within a year of sustaining the fracture, and another 20% of all hip-fracture patients will be in a nursing home within one year. These numbers are worrisome, to say the least.
Although there is no clear explanation for this upsurge in the incidence of osteoporosis among older women, poor diets and sedentary lifestyle are suspected to play a role. In fact, a recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey concluded that many Americans particularly women, ethnic minorities, and the socially disadvantaged are not meeting the current recommendations for adequate calcium and vitamin D intake through diet alone or with calcium and vitamin D supplements.
Another factor implicated in the steep rise in osteoporosis cases is too much coffee drinking among older women. There is growing evidence that caffeine decreases blood calcium levels by increasing calcium excretion in urine, and this increases the risks of fracture and osteoporosis. In a study published in 2001, for example, postmenopausal women who consumed 300 milligrams of caffeine a day lost more bone mass in the spine compared to women who consumed less than 300 milligrams a day.
So, is there something a woman can do to slow down bone loss? Many experts believe that the results of these new surveys amount to a wake-up call to all women to take immediate steps to protect themselves against the debilitation of osteoporosis. The current health advice is that older women should begin by ensuring that they meet their daily calcium and vitamin D requirements through diet alone or with supplements.
They should also get regular weight-bearing exercise. Examples of exercises that provide bone health benefits include walking, jogging, racket sports, dancing, stir climbing, and skating. For bone health, any physical activity that puts stress or strain on bone will help strengthen the bone and increase its density. On the other hand, exercises such as biking and swimming may not provide the same benefits because, during these exercises, the bone is supported rather than being put under stress.
Of course, older women must take care of smoking. In addition to having a negative effect on a woman's bones, there is a number of health problems associated with smoking. Cigarette smoke produces toxins in the body and increases a person's risk for chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and osteoporosis.
The bottom line is that numbers do not lie, and the current numbers for osteoporosis suggest a silent epidemic among postmenopausal women. However, older women should not feel helpless; there are steps they can take to fight back. These steps include getting enough calcium and vitamin D, getting a regular weight-bearing exercise, moderating coffee drinking, and avoiding smoking. But, they must get going. The time is now; tomorrow may be too late.