Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis literally means porous bones.

A lot of people think that osteroporosis is an old person's sickness. Mind you, bone loss doesnt happen overnight. Bones look hard but have a soft inner core. We can never tell whether our bones are decaying from the inside or not until its too late.

Do you know that osteoporosis can be avoided? Preventive measures like weight bearing exercises and proper balanced diet with adequate calcium, vitamin D and protein will prevent one from getting osteoporosis. Bone loss in women can begin as young as 25 years of age. The loss of bone occurs silently and progressively. Often, there are not symptoms until the a fracture occurs.

Regular weight bearing exercises has been shown to help maintain and build up bone mass. The stronger the muscles, the better the balance and agility hence contributes to fall prevention. The lifetime risk for a woman or a man dying from hip fracture complication is the same as dying from breast/prostate cancer.

Studies have shown one in five men are affected by osteoporosis. This means it is a misconception that osteoporosis only occur to women.

So people out there, please take care of your body, please exercise, have a balance diet, adequate calcium and protein and if possible avoid smoking, drugs and alcohol. Grow old gracefully :)