Best Foods to Prevent and Fight Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a progressive bone disease in which your bones become porous and  fragile, their mass and mineral density decrease, their micro architecture deteriorates, and the proteins in the bone are altered which leads to an increased risk of fracture. World Health Organization (WHO) describes osteoporosis as a bone mineral density of 2.5 standard deviations or more below the average of young, healthy adults.

Your bone density test results appear in two numbers: T-score (standard deviations) and Z-score. T-score  (above) represents your bone density compared to a healthy young adult of your sex: -1 and above means your bone density is considered normal; between -1 & -2.5 means that your bone density is below normal called osteopenia, a precursor to osteoporosis; -2.5 and below means your bone density indicates you have osteoporosis. Z-score is the number of standard deviations above or below what is normally expected for someone of your age, sex, weight, and ethnic or racial origin. If your Z-score is equal or below -2 it indicates that something other than aging is causing abnormal bone loss, which your doctor could slow or stop should he/she could identify the underlying problem.

Osteoporosis is classified as primary type 1 (common in women after menopause), primary type 2 (senile osteoporosis occurs after age 75 and is seen in both females and males at a ratio of 2:1), or secondary which occurs at any age and affects both men and women due to chronic medical problems or diseases, or prolonged use of certain medications (steroids),

The foods I describe in this presentation will help you prevent, slow down and stop osteoporosis.

 

Medical conditions that may lead to osteoporosis:

• Overactive thyroid
• Celiac disease-autoimmune disorder of the small intestine
• Cushing's syndrome-hormonal disorder with high levels of cortisol
• Crohn's disease-inflammatory bowel disease
• Chronic kidney failure
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Chronic liver disease
• Chronic pancreatitis (often related to alcohol abuse)
• Type 1 diabetes
•  Any condition that causes poor mobility.

You need to treat these diseases first before beginning  reversing your osteoporosis.

Steps to prevent and reverse osteoporosis:

• Eat a diet rich in calcium, vitamins D and K2, potassium, magnesium, zinc and proteins
• Get enough vitamin D from natural sunlight
• Exercise regularly, 30 minutes/daily: weight-bearing exercises such as walking, dancing, jumping rope, stair climbing, aerobics, hiking, jogging/running, tennis, Tai Chi. Muscle strengthening exercises such as gentle Yoga and Pilates, lifting weights, using elastic exercise bands and weight machines, lifting your own body weight, standing and rising up on your toes are important
• Avoid: smoking, and carbonated soft drinks. The latter are rich in phosphoric acid which increases calcium excretion in your urine
• Limit: caffeine, salt and  alcohol to 2-3 drinks per day as each causes calcium loss from your body