Osteoporosis is a disease of the bones. It happens when you lose too much bone, make too little bone or both. As a result, your bones become weak and may break from a minor fall or, in serious cases, even from simple actions, like sneezing or bumping into furniture.

Osteoporosis means “porous bone.” If you look at healthy bone under a microscope, you will see that parts of it look like a honeycomb. If you have osteoporosis, the holes and spaces in the honeycomb are much bigger than they are in healthy bone. This means your bones have lost density or mass and that the structure of your bone tissue has become abnormal. As your bones become less dense, they also become weaker and more likely to break. If you’re age 50 or older and have broken a bone, talk to your doctor or other healthcare provider and ask if you should have a bone density test.

What causes osteoporosis?

• Genetics
• Prescription drugs
• Drinking soda and alcohol
• Eating a diet heavy in animal protein
• Not enough sun
• Smoking
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Menopause

What osteoporosis looks like.

Genetic, well you can’t do anything about that. If you were lucky enough to be born with thin bones that look great in clothes, but in the long run and while you age, you will be at greater risk for osteoporosis.

Drinking soda and alcohol is like drinking poison for your body. Soda contains phosphoric acid, which interferes with the body’s ability to absorb calcium and can lead to osteoporosis, cavities and bone softening. Phosphoric Acid also interacts with stomach acid, slowing digestion and blocking nutrient absorption. Yikes! Research shows that chronic heavy alcohol use, especially during adolescence and young adult years, can dramatically affect bone health and increase the risk of osteoporosis later in life.

Calcium is an essential nutrient for healthy bones, and alcohol is its enemy. “Alcohol has multiple effects on calcium,” says Primal Kaur, MD, an osteoporosis specialist at Temple University Health System in Philadelphia. “The bones deteriorate because not enough calcium is getting into bones — and the body is leaching it away from bones.”

Prescription drugs can cause havoc on your ones. I personally take Triosint for thyroid hormone replacement which puts me at a higher risk for osteoporosis. But what can I do? My thyoid is not producing anymore of the hormone, and I need it to survive.  I will have to make certain not to add anymore risks and I do not drink alcohol or soda. What prescription drugs are you taking and do they cause osteoporosis?

Eating a diet high in animal protein is detrimental to your health.  I don’t know where this fad of high protein diets came from. People now think they cannot survive without drinking a protein shake. What the heck for?  The largest animals in the animal kingdom do not eat meat or drink protein shake. It is just another example of people falling for advertisements by companies that want to make money.

Your body needs to stay alkalized to survive. A 7.0 is the prefect level if you test with a PH test strip. When you eat protein which is acidic, your body must react by leaching your bones of calcium to alkalize your blood. Keep on eating protein in mass quantities and you will be causing osteoporosis. (Click here for a great way to keep your drinking water alkaline.)

Vitamin D is vital for strong bones. People are now scared to go out in the sun without sunscreen but you need sun daily for a good dose of Vitamin D. If you live in the northern state or above the 39th parallel you most likely need to supplement with a vitamin D3 supplement. Here is a great gel cap that uses olive oil instead of GMO soy as a filler.

Smoking is bad for bone health. Studies have shown a direct relationship between tobacco use and decreased bone density. Analyzing the impact of cigarette smoking on bone health is complicated. It is hard to determine whether a decrease in bone density is due to smoking itself or to other risk factors common among smokers. For example, in many cases smokers are thinner than nonsmokers, tend to drink more alcohol, may be less physically active, and have poor diets. Women who smoke also tend to have an earlier menopause than nonsmokers. These factors place many smokers at an increased risk for osteoporosis apart from their tobacco use. (Source) http://www.niams.nih.gov/health_info/bone/Osteoporosis/conditions_Behaviors/bone_smoking.asp

A sedentary lifestyle will cause an increase risk for osteoporosis. Every time you walk sends a message to your bones to build more bone. Weight bearing exercises are another way to pump up your bone mass. Laziness causes bones to weaken. A 30 minute walk a day is a good way to ward off osteoporosis.

Women have a higher incident of osteoporosis once they are postmenopausal because they are no longer producing estrogen that protects their bones from osteoporosis. The same goes for younger women that do not have periods, usually caused by chronic dieting and not eating enough calories. There are thin 30 year-olds that have the bones of an 80 year-old.

What can you do if you already have osteoporosis?

Your doctor may prescribe one of the prescription drugs such as a bisphosphonates, denosumab (Prolia), raloxifene (Evista), and teriparatide (Forteo) which can help prevent fractures in women with osteoporosis; however, they pose a risk of side effects. I met one woman that was taking an oral prescription drug for osteoporosis and it damaged her esophagus to the point that she could not eat solid food. My neighbor had an injection every year of an drug that caused severe bone loss in her jaw.  I would recommend talking to your doctor about the benefits vs. the risks and determine then if it is the right prescription drug for you.

Hormone replacement therapy is used to replace the estrogen no longer produced in the postmenopausal woman which in turn is thought to slow down the loss of bone mass. However, there is worry about the risk in increase in cancers, particularly breast and ovarian, with hormone replacement therapy. I was in the doctor’s office and read an article that there is still an increase risk if you use hormones made from plants. (Other estrogen drugs such as Premarin are made from pregnant horse urine.)  I admit, I tried a natural formula of estrogen and progesterone made at a compounding pharmacy that I applied 2x a day on my arms, but I stopped refilling the prescription due to my concerns about the risks. I think that it is a personal decision that you and your doctor should decide.

Natural treatments would be to:

• Walk everyday
• Stop smoking, limit or eliminate alcohol and soda
• Take a good D3 supplement along with calcium and magnesium
• Eat a good diet of mainly fresh vegetables and fruit

Here is my some books I recommend for healthy bones.