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Osteoporosis | Osteoporosis: The Silent Disease | Osteoporosis Prevention | Osteoporosis Screening and Diagnosis | Treatment | Osteoporosis Research | Outpatient Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Diseases Services
Dr. Streeten says that exercise, avoidance of smoking and excess alcohol, diet and Vitamin D supplementation are important ways to help prevent osteoporosis. It is important to know, however, that genetic factors also lead to osteoporosis and there is no current way to reduce this risk.
“I recommend that patients do the amount of exercise recommended by the American Heart Association to prevent heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the US. This amount of exercise will also help to prevent osteoporosis--at least three hours a week of weight bearing (on your feet or bicycling but not swimming) aerobic exercise,” advises Streeten. “Find exercise that you like to do, so it won’t be so hard to keep up with it. Only the bones actively loaded will benefit from exercise. For example when you walk, your lower body will benefit, but not your arms. Include the use of hand weights to help the upper body.”
Some specific recommended exercises include:
Dr. Streeten says this type of exercise helps prevent not only heart disease but also osteoporosis.
It’s also important to maintain a diet that includes an adequate amount of calcium or to take a calcium supplement and to take a Vitamin D supplement at least from September through May (since Vitamin D is made in the skin but only in sufficient amounts at our latitude in the summer months and there is not enough Vitamin D in food). Dr. Streeten recommends the following:
In addition to preventing and treating osteoporosis, says Dr. Streeten “Vitamin D is also important for cardiovascular health, immune function, and it reduces the risk of cancer, especially colon, breast and prostate cancer.”
For those who do not want to take a Vitamin D supplement in the summer, she recommends getting 15 minutes a day of direct sunlight at the peak of the day (11a.m. -3 p.m.) without sunscreen, which will increase Vitamin D production in the skin.
If you are getting Vitamin D in supplement form, there are two types: D2 and D3. “The body appears to prefer D3 (cholecalciferol) which is the type made in our skin,” says Streeten.
Good dietary sources of calcium include milk (all milk regardless of fat content contains 300 mg of calcium per 8oz), yogurt and cheese, as well as foods with added calcium such as orange juice, some cereals and some breads. But Streeten warns that “taking too much calcium (eg. over 2000 mg daily) is not good. “Going over the recommended daily amount could increase the risk of kidney stones.”
Conversely, there are certain foods/drink to avoid.
“Avoid excessive alcohol. Two servings or less a day is safe for bone health,” says Dr. Streeten. High protein diets are not good for the bones, she says, because they cause more loss of calcium through the urine. In addition, she notes that “caffeine in excess and excessive sodas can also be bad for the bones.”
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