We all know that calcium and vitamin D help keep our bones healthy, but most of us don’t know that it isn’t that simple.
To prevent osteoporosis ““ a progressive bone disease that causes bones to become weak, brittle and more prone to breaking ““ you should be getting enough calcium and vitamin D through diet and supplements, enough regular weight-bearing exercise, and you shouldn’t smoke.
Unfortunately, though, those are the only risk factors for osteoporosis you can actually control.
What you can’t control
For men, a testosterone deficiency, such as one caused by a medical condition causing low testosterone levels, can increase the risk of osteoporosis. But men don’t naturally lose testosterone the way women lose estrogen during menopause. In fact, the biggest risk factor for developing osteoporosis in women is estrogen deficiency. That’s why menopause is the main reason women are at a higher risk for developing osteoporosis than men, said Dr. Linda Hermiller, medical director of the St. Elizabeth Regional Diabetes Center in Covington.
In addition, any health condition ““ such as hyperthyroidism, alcoholism and diabetes ““ that disrupts the normal balance of calcium regulation or bone metabolism can increase the risk for developing osteoporosis. So can health issues, such as malnutrition and anorexia, that impact a person’s ability to reach adequate peak bone density before age 30.
“It is such a complex relationship of many factors that impact bone building and remodeling,” Hermiller said. “It isn’t as simple as ‘calcium plus vitamin D equals healthy bone,’ yet so much of what patients are told revolves around that. Although the other factors and hormones responsible for bone health are important, they are also, likely, the least alterable by the patients themselves.”
If you have osteoporosis, your risk for bone fractures increases with your age. Other risk factors include previous fractures, long-term glucocorticoid therapy, a low body weight of less than 127 pounds, a family history of hip fracture, cigarette smoking, and excessive alcohol intake.
