Learn all you can about osteoporosis. Courtesy of American Recall Center
Good bye April! Hello May! I look forward to more sunny days, more blooming flowers, and of course Memorial Day weekend. But May is also Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month so as a health advocate I must share something important to keep your eye on this condition. For those of you who don’t have a full grasp on the definition of osteoporosis, let me break this down (no pun intended).
Osteoporosis is a disease that makes your bones brittle and thin and holy (think of a dried out sponge). When the bones are like this they are easy to break. It’s a disease that typically strikes thin, older White and Asian females but that’s not an absolute. I know quite a few Black women who have it too and they aren’t older or all that thin. It also runs in families so if your mother or grandmother had it, your risk of getting it increases. Men can also get osteoporosis so don’t think you’re immune from it fellas.
What can you do to prevent it? A few things. First, not smoking and curving your alcohol consumption is a good start. Take in as much Vitamin D and Calcium as you can is another step. Learn your family history. Is there a loved one in your family that used to walked all bent over? What was the cause of that? Finally, hit the weights!! I’m not talking about pumping iron with body builders but a few weight bearing exercises a couple of times a week could do your bones a world of good.
American Recall Center is an excellent resource to help you learn all you can about this disease and hip replacement. There are also some great resources right here in Howard County if you want to learn more. Click here to read more about it. Also, there are Osteoporosis Nutritionists and Dietitians that can help you incorporate the right foods into your daily diet to ward off this bone killer. Finally, there’s a great infographic that I’ve included in this post to give you a better picture of the affects of osteoporosis. Take care my friends.
