| | February 20189symptoms of the disease because of their fragile bones, which are most likely to fracture, and this seems to be a major risk associated with oste-oporosis. During the first 5-10 years following menopause, women can lose up to 20 percent of the bone density. This is predominantly at-tributed to insufficient estrogen and also low intake of calcium during the lifetime. The ac-celerated bone loss after menopause is a ma-jor cause of osteo-porosis in wom-en, referred to as postmenopausal osteoporosis. This is true even in women who seem to otherwise have normal health.Causes of Osteoporosis· Low Body Mass Index: Doc-tors believe that a BMI of 20-25 is ideal. Anyone with a BMI of 19 is considered underweight leading to the risk factor of osteoporosis. · Eating Disorders: Eating dis-orders such as anorexia and bulimia can considerably reduce calcium in-take and accelerate mineral loss from bone. Estrogen deficiency in younger women contributes to bone loss in a similar way as the estrogen deficien-cy does after menopause.· Age: Most of the time, hip frac-tures occur in people aged above 50 years and older mainly because of re-duced bone mineral density. · Menopause in Women: The decrease in the levels of estrogen would lead to an increase in bone re-modelling. But in elderly people, this remodelling results in loss of bones rather than formation. · Consumption of Alcohol: It is revealed that more than two units of alcohol consumption per day can lead to the risk of developing hip fractures in both men and women. Diagnosing & Testing of OsteoporosisA bone density test can help you determine if you have osteoporosis or are at risk. It's an important test because low bone mineral density rarely has any symptoms, until a fracture occurs. The test uses X-rays to measure how many grams of calcium and other bone minerals are in a square centimeter of bone and generally higher the mineral content, the denser the bone is. The process of diagnosing osteoporosis will begin with a physical exam. X-rays may also be taken to detect skeletal problems such as fractures.A bone mineral density (BMD) test measures bone mass which is used to diagnose osteoporosis. BMD test is also used to assess your risk for fractures, determine the rate of bone loss, and measure your response to treatment for osteoporosis. Few Tips for Women to Prevent Osteoporosis· Quit Smoking: Smokers are often prone to lower bone density, and also cigars add on to the chances of bone loss, therefore women should be careful and quit smoking if they are addicted to it· Regular Exercise: To keep one fit and away from diseases, regular workouts are a must, and for women in their menopausal stage, a regular brisk walk would help in increasing bone density and keeping them flexible. · Dietary Food: A healthy diet which includes adequate consumption of Vitamin D and calcium foods like eggs, green vegetables, cereals, and orange juice will certainly improve the calcium content in your body, increasing the bone density.· Avoid Excess Consumption of Alcohol: Limited alcohol consumption is always good for health as excessive consumption of alcohol would lead to imbalance of calcium content in the body risking the bone condition. Women are more prone to osteoporosis than men, as theystart with lower bone density than their male peers and lose bone mass more quickly, particularly during the time of menopause
< Page 8 | Page 10 >