Preventing Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a silent disease. It has no signs or symptoms until the bones have thinned to the point where they fracture under the lightest of stresses.

While osteoporosis can affect everyone, it strikes women the hardest. Nearly half of all Caucasian and Asian women over the age of 50 years will suffer from at least one fracture caused by osteoporosis. African and Latin women, and men of all races, face lower rates, but bone loss still occurs with the presence of additional risk factors.

Additional risk factors for osteoporosis include:

• Low weight (under 127 pounds for adults)
• Being a smoker
• Poor lifelong calcium intake
• Family history of osteoporosis
• Other chronic conditions such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, thyroid disease or inflammatory bowel disease.
• Long-term use of the steroid medication prednisone and early menopause.

The most common, and devastating, non-traumatic fracture associated with osteoporosis are hip fractures. The low-bone mass caused by osteoporosis is so bad, that many people suffer from this disease can break their hip sockets simply by standing up. Some estimates show that in the US, over 300,000 hip fractures occur every year. Of those who suffer from hip fractures related to osteoprosis, twelve to twenty percent will die from complications caused by the fracture within the first year.(1) Those who survive face a substantial decrease in the quality of their lives due to pain and loss of mobility.

Because peak bone mass is achieved at approximately 30 years of age, it's vital to have a diet rich in calcium from infancy through early adulthood.(1) Calcium consumed later in life helps maintain bone mass, but it can't build more mass than you've already got by the time you're 30.

Ingest Calcium Throughout the Day

Calcium is absorbed slowly and the body can't take in more than 500 mg at one time. While naturally occurring calcium is more effectively absorbed than supplemental calcium, taking a coral calcium supplement can help.

Most people should take 1000 mg per day. Some coral calcium supplements contains 500 mg of calcium, along with other vitamins and minerals that pertain to bone health, per capsule. Taking one capsule during breakfast, and another at your evening meal, is the perfect way to get your daily doses in an optimal way.

If you're over the age of 40, you should take between 1200 to 1500 mg of calcium per day. After age 40, add a capsule coral calcium to your mid-day meal, and you'll optimize your calcium intake.

(1) Data gathered from the Osteoporosis Clinic in the Division of Rheumatology at Froedtert & Medical College.