Is there anything that I can do now to prevent Osteoporosis?
I’m 41, 5’2” and 118 lbs. Petite. Both my Mom and my Mom’s Mom had Osteoporosis.
What can I do to strengthen my bones?
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Working out with weights and plenty of calcium with vitamin D.
Strength resistance exercise. Walking and running, lifting weights, all will help build bone strength.
And check your diet for your calcium intake, it’s better to get it from foods than to take calcium supplements.
Table: Calcium Content of Selected Vegan Foods (Source; common dietary knowledge
Blackstrap molasses 2 Tbsp 400 (Mg)
Collard greens, cooked 1 cup 357
Other plant milks, calcium-fortified 8 ounces 300–500
Tofu, processed with calcium sulfate* 4 ounces 200–420
Calcium-fortified orange juice 8 ounces 350
Soy or ricemilk, commercial, calcium-fortified, plain 8 ounces 200–300
Commercial soy yogurt, plain 6 ounces 300
Turnip greens, cooked 1 cup 249
Tofu, processed with nigari* 4 ounces 130–400
Tempeh 1 cup 184
Kale, cooked 1 cup 179
Soybeans, cooked 1 cup 175
Bok choy, cooked 1 cup 158
Mustard greens, cooked 1 cup 152
Okra, cooked 1 cup 135
Tahini 2 Tbsp 128
Navy beans, cooked 1 cup 126
Almond butter 2 Tbsp 111
Almonds, whole ¼ cup 94
Broccoli, cooked
Note: Oxalic acid, which is found in spinach, rhubarb, chard, and beet greens binds with the calcium in those foods and reduces its absorption. These foods should not be considered good sources of calcium. Calcium in other green vegetables is well absorbed
). Dietary fiber has little effect on calcium absorption.
PS. LIft weights or bench press Frankie and Blg Blue at every opportunity.
Take calcium supplements and lift weights.
Vitamin D, vitamin K2, exercise with impact, weight lifting. Be careful not to take too much calcium, but a calcium rich diet does help bones. Too much calcium and not enough D and K2 can mean the calcium settles in arteries and other soft tissues and increases risk for heart disease.
@marinelife:The research that my sis and I have done strongly suggests that the calcium supplements can do more harm than good. We have stopped taking them and try to eat our calcium. (I do take a ¼ dose calcium/ magnesium supp. a few times a week for leg cramps, however, when I remember).
@gailcalled I also recently read that calcium supplements can do harm and was happy to get confirmation that I was on the right track by neglecting them!
^^^Thank my sis. She is the alpha researcher and verifier.
“Recently, some people have looked to vitamin K2 to treat osteoporosis and steroid-induced bone loss, but the research is conflicting. At this point there is not enough data to recommend using vitamin K2 for osteoporosis.”
“While vitamin K deficiencies are uncommon, you may be at higher risk if you:
Have a disease that affects absorption in the digestive tract, such as Crohn’s disease or colitis
Take drugs that interfere with vitamin K absorption
Are severely malnourished
Drink alcohol heavily”
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/lifestyle-guide-11/supplement-guide-vitamin-k
PS. “Risks. You should not use vitamin K supplements unless your health care provider tells you to. (Same source).
@gailcalled Thanks for that link. I have asked doctors about vitamin K2 and they don’t seem to be well educated on the topic. I don’t mean they tell me not to take it or disagree with me, I mean they seem to not be aware of some of the current i formation out there about k2 specifically. Since I avoid egg yolks I decided to start taking some. Dr. Oz recommends it too, but I saw his show on it much after I started taking it. I take a small dose. My mom has calcium all over her body and the beginnings of osteoperosis, so it looks like the calcium does not go into her bone as it should. She took a medication that is calcium and D a prescrption, and her blood calcium did get elevated. Her body for whatever reason is messed up probably genetically one way or another. I take a very small amount hoping it does some good, but who knows for sure. I was thinking just last month I should see if they can test k2 levels. I do have my calcium checked regularly because I take such high doses of vitamin D.
Your link doesn’t really mention dangers except of course the coagulating, people on anticoagulants are told to watch their K intake. My dad tries to eat about the same amount of K daily in his diet to keep his levels right for his blood thinners.
I was thinking about going to a cardiologist in the next few months, maybe they will be more informed.
Lots of weight-bearing exercise, which will help you keep the calcium that’s already in your bones.
If you’re peri-menopausal or menopausal, hormone replacement therapy. I know that this advice can get some strong objections; there are so many supposed (yet unsubstantiated) links between HRT and cancer, heart disease, and other illnesses. My take on all that – when those hormones are produced naturally by a young woman’s body, they don’t cause cancer or diseases. But, they do keep a pre-menopausal woman’s bones strong. My own OB/GYN believes that every woman should stay on HRT for the remainder of her life; she’s been recommending this for about 30 years, and she’s never seen any adverse outcomes.
Good natural food sources of vitamin K include:
Vegetables like spinach, asparagus, and broccoli
Beans and soybeans
Eggs
Strawberries
Meat
I think K2 is only in eggs in that list. But, I am happy to be corrected. From what I have read it is in some cheeses and very high in concentration in natto, which is something the Japenese eat. Some argue it is part of the reason they get much less heart disease in Japan. It’s tricky, because I avoid eggs because of the cholesterol and cheese to some extent.
@JLeslie I do hope you are not using Dr. Oz as a good source of information. The man pushes a different diet pill everyday. I don’t see how anyone can take him seriously and only see that he can hurt people that are rushing out to buy what he pushes as the best diet pill ever.
@chyna I’m not. I don’t like the guy very much at all. A lot of the K2 information is people selling K2 supplements, which I try to weed through. But, there have been some studies, which seem to be valid scientific studies, showing K2 has cardiac benefits, plus bone density that K1 does not have. Most of the studies I have read have been in Europe.
Dr. Oz should only be allowed to do surgery, that is it. Added: he should be charged for some of the garbage he has been spewing.
@flo I never liked him. He has a skeevy thing about him to begin with. It’s hard for me to look at him. I don’t know why people are head over heels with him and his show. Once in a while I catch part of his show, and once in a while I feel like I learn something useful, but for the most part his show is so boring to me.
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