OSTEOPOROSIS is a disease people often do not know they have until they break a bone.
Bone thinning due to osteoporosis affects millions of people around the world. While 80% of those affected are women, men are also at risk, and the disease can strike at any age.
Osteoporosis literally means “porous bones” and it is a condition characterised by calcium-depleted bones that become fragile and weak.
Between 2-4% of a person’s skeleton is remodelled every year. This means that calcium and other minerals (magnesium, zinc, copper, boron, manganese) leave the bone in a process called resorption and then must be “remodelled” or replaced.
If not prevented or if left untreated, osteoporosis can progress painlessly until a bone breaks. These broken bones, also known as fractures, occur typically in the hip, spine, and wrist.
Any bone can be affected, but of special concern are fractures of the hip and spine. A hip fracture almost always requires hospitalisation and major surgery. It can impair a person’s ability to walk unassisted and may cause prolonged or permanent disability or even death.
Spinal or vertebral fractures also have serious consequences, including loss of height, severe back pain, deformity and so on.
Whether due to poor nutrition or reduced hormone levels with the onset of ageing, the loss of calcium and other minerals from the bone creates tiny holes that make bones weak and brittle, particularly if collagen is lost. This is how osteoporosis develops.
Building and maintaining bone mass is paramount to avoiding osteoporosis. By about age 20, the average woman has acquired 98% of her skeletal mass.
Building strong bones during childhood and adolescence can be the best defence against developing osteoporosis later.
There are five steps, which together, can optimise bone health and help prevent osteoporosis. They are:
Diet: Eating foods rich in calcium, magnesium, zinc, manganese, boron and copper such as milk, broccoli, fish and dark green vegetables.
Weight-bearing and resistance-training exercises: Bones, like muscles, grow stronger when regularly stressed.
A healthy lifestyle with no smoking or excessive alcohol intake.
If you are not meeting the required intake of calcium and other minerals through diet, you should consider taking supplements.
The importance of calcium supplementation has long been recognised in bone health. However, as important as calcium is to bone health, it is found that in the US, only 25% of women with osteoporosis are calcium deficient.
New evidence clearly shows that vitamin D, magnesium, copper, zinc, boron and manganese are also vital for maintaining strong and healthy bone.
These nutrients should all be consumed together for optimal bone metabolism. Even the absence of one nutrient can result in weak bones and osteoporosis.
Calcium plays an important role in maintaining bone. Calcium alone cannot prevent or cure osteoporosis, but it is an important part of an overall prevention or treatment program. The US RDA (recommended daily allowances) for calcium is as follows:
Adults and teenagers – 800 to 1200mg per day.
Pregnant and breast-feeding females – 1200mg per day.
Children four to 10 years of age – 800mg per day.
Children from birth to 3 years of age – 400 to 800mg per day.
Vitamin D helps body absorb calcium. Low levels of vitamin D are common in women, especially the elderly. Deficiencies of vitamin D can lead to calcium deficiencies, leading to soft bones (osteomalacia). Experts recommend a daily intake of between 400 and 800 international units (IU).
Magnesium is essential for both the preservation and mobilisation of calcium in the bone and is required for the utilisation of vitamin D.
Magnesium deficiency is common and is a leading risk factor for osteoporosis. The US RDA for magnesium is 400mg per day.
Manganese is a trace mineral required for the synthesis of connective tissue that form the matrix upon which mineral deposition occurs. The recommended daily intake for manganese is 2mg.
Boron is needed to convert vitamin D into its active form, which explains why boron deficiency affects calcium metabolism and bone formation.
Boron reduces calcium loss from bones. Although there is no official RDA for boron, a dosage of 1.5 to 3.0mg daily is safe and adequate (Murray, 1996).
Zinc supports bone formation by enhancing the action of vitamin D. Zinc helps maintain bone structure and is involved in bone development.
Copper deficiency may lead to abnormal bone deposition. Copper helps form the building blocks of bone.
When shopping for a calcium supplement, do ensure that it also contains the other essential nutrients mentioned above in adequate amounts to support strong and healthy bones.
Prevention of osteoporosis should begin at birth by meeting the human dietary requirements for calcium and other nutrients and should continue thereafter.
