Natural Osteoporosis Treatment
Osteoporosis and bone loss are two main menopause signs and symptoms, so learning about natural osteoporosis treatment options is very important if you are in menopause.
Post-menopausal women have a high risk of developing osteoporosis and bone loss because of their low estrogen levels. In fact, it is estimated that 50% of American women will be affected by osteoporosis!
Osteoporosis, literally meaning "porous bones," causes bones to be frail and increases your risk of getting bone fractures.
Since bones become weaker as you age, the older you are when you get a fracture, the harder it is for your bones to heal.
Your Bone Density
You want your bones to be strong and dense - not weak and porous.
To determine your bone density, you can get a test from your doctor called a dual-energy bone densitometry test (DEXA) or a bone mineral density test (BMD).
Test Scores
0 to -1 = Normal
-1 to -2.5 = Osteopenia
-2.5 to -3 = Osteoporosis
Osteopenia means that you have low bone density which could lead to osteoporosis. If you test at this level, you can reverse this trend by eating right, exercising, and taking the proper supplements.
Natural Osteoporosis Treatments
Even if you are not suffering from low bone density right now, implementing these tips into your life will promote good general health as well as good bone health.
Lifestyle
- Regular Exercise: Exercise increases bone mass and reduces bone loss. It also helps you maintain muscle strength and coordination.
Best of all? It makes you feel (and look) great!
Worst of all? Sometimes, it's hard to muster up the gumption to workout. Find a workout buddy, or set a specific time during the week that you devote to exercising. Honor that time for yourself just as you would honor a meeting with another person.
Get exercise at least three times a week. If you can, 30 minutes a day is best.
Walking, jogging, dancing, lifting weights, jumping rope, and yoga are all great activities because they are weight bearing exercises.
- Sunshine: Get at least 15 minutes of sunscreen-free sunshine a day. Get your sun before or after midday in order to avoid getting strong, harmful sun rays. Shoot for before 10:00 am or after 4:00 pm.
Our bodies need sun to make vitamin D, a vitamin that helps our bones absorb calcium. Vitamin D also helps us stay in a good mood.
Those are pretty good incentives to bare some skin.
- Medications: Some medications like anti-depressants, acid blockers, and steroids can deplete your calcium supply, so be sure to talk with your doctor and find alternatives that won't leach away your calcium.
- Stop Smoking: Using tobacco may make your bones weaker.
Your Diet
Your diet can be a part of your natural osteoporosis treatment since the food that you eat affects your calcium levels. Certain foods can leach calcium out of your bones and other foods can help boost calcium.
- Eat These
The following list contains foods that will boost your calcium and make your bones stronger.
fruits, vegetables, whole grain, flax seeds, nuts, beans, fermented dairy products (yogurt), leafy greens, tofu, chickpeas, spinach, dark chocolate, orange juice, green tea
- Avoid These
These foods will leach away the calcium in your bones.
caffeine, dairy, refined sugar, soda
(Instead of coffee, which contains a large amount of caffeine, consider switching to green tea or black tea. These teas still contain caffeine, but not as much as coffee.)
- Don't Have These in Excess
It's okay to consume these sometimes, but eating them in excess will have negative effects on your bone health.
alcohol, salt, animal protein, caffeine, cola
Supplements
Vitamins and herbs are a great natural osteoporosis treatment option. Be sure to use these along with some of the lifestyle changes listed above, and you will begin to build stronger bones and feel better!
- Calcium: As most of us know, calcium is a large part of a natural osteoporosis treatment. If you are older than 51, you should be getting 1500 mg of calcium per day.
Since your body can't absorb all 1500 mg of calcium at once, it's best to take a few doses throughout the day.
- Magnesium: You can find calcium & magnesium supplements wherever you buy vitamins. Magnesium is a good mineral to take with calcium because the two of them work together to help your bones maintain calcium.
Magnesium makes up 1% of the minerals in your bones, so get your 400 mg a day!
You can take it in a supplement, or get it by eating whole-grain cereal, brown rice, almonds, peanuts, and spinach.
- Vitamin D: If you live in a climate where you can't get at least 15 minutes of sunshine a day, taking a vitamin D supplement might be a good idea for you. Vitamin D helps your bones absorb calcium.
- Omega-3s: Get these healthful fatty acids either by eating ground flax seeds, nuts, fish, and soy, or by taking a supplement.
- Potassium: Get 4700 mg a day from your food. Eat bananas, oranges, baked potatoes, plums, raisins, and tomatoes.
- Vitamin B-12: Get 2.4 mcg of this per day. Get it by eating shellfish, lean beef, and low-fat dairy products.
- Multi-Vitamin: Take a good multivitamin that contains vitamin C, folic acid, zinc, and vitamin K.
- Estrogen: Boosting your estrogen level can help your bone health since your bones need estrogen to be healthy. Consider taking natural estrogen replacements like black cohosh, don quai, and licorice root.
By taking a holistic approach to your natural osteoporosis treatment, not only will you naturally treat osteoporosis, but you will also increase your energy, your strength, and your confidence!
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