What Is Osteoporosis and Who's At Risk?

What is osteoporosis? Osteoporosis is a condition that develops as the body either fails to form enough new bone, too much old bone is reabsorbed, or both. As we age our bones tend to become less dense, weakening their structure. Since weak bones are more fragile they may begin to get tiny fractures. When you have osteoporosis, you may have many of these tiny fractures and a fall will likely result in broken bones. Advanced case of this condition can be extremely deliberating and painful.

Who is at risk? Women, especially those age 60 and older are more at risk although men can develop osteoporosis too. Factors that can contribute to bone loss include inadequate intake of calcium and vitamin D, lack of weight-bearing exercise, your age, race, sex, family history, genetic disorders and use of certain medications. The most important thing to know is that in most cases, you can prevent or reduce your risk of developing this condition with simple lifestyle changes.

Osteoporosis Prevention Tips

• Get plenty of calcium in your diet as this mineral is the main building block of bones. When you don't get enough calcium your body can't make your bones dense and strong. You can get calcium through foods high in calcium like milk, yogurt and other dairy products, also from green leafy vegetables and various soy products. It's also a good idea to take a calcium supplement. Watkins Osteogen contains calcium citrate the most easily absorbed form of calcium, plus Vitamin C, vitamin D, boron and other bone-building vitamins and minerals to enhance your calcium absorption and help prevent loss of calcium from bones.
• Make sure you are getting enough essential nutrients. Eating a varied, healthy diet is important. Calcium on it's own isn't absorbed by your body unless taken with Vitamin D. During the summer, your best source of Vitamin D is the sun. During the winter you can eat Vitamin D fortified products like milk, some breakfast cereals and by taking a dietary supplement. Other nutrients that are essential to keeping your bones strong are: Vitamin K, phosphorous, Vitamin C, magnesium, copper, manganese, zinc, iron, boron, and , protein. Unless you eat the world's healthiest diet, your best bet is to take a daily multivitamin. Watkins Superfood Multiple contains optimum potencies of every important vitamin and mineral to keep you feeling and performing at your very best. The specialized formula enhances the benefits of all other Watkins dietary supplements including Watkins Osteogen.
• Do some weight bearing exercise daily. Most people can get the appropriate amount of exercise simply by walking, since this is an activity that involves you bearing your body weight. Other weight bearing exercises include jogging, climbing stairs, dancing, weight training and any activity that requires your muscles to work against gravity. Getting up and moving for fifteen to thirty minutes every day is important for keeping your bones strong. If you can exercise more, then you should do so. Exercise is important for maintaining a healthy weight, another good way to keep osteoporosis at bay. However, losing too much weight, too quickly with a serverly restricted diet for example is a good way to lose bone mass.



• Use moderation or give up your bad habits. While having the occasional drink has actually been shown to improve the condition of your bones, you can cause damage if you drink alcohol excessively on a regular basis. Smoking can also cause an increased risk of fracture besides quitting is a good decision for your overall health.
• Start now, the earlier the better. Most women wait until the first signs of menopause to start worrying about osteoporosis prevention. While menopause is when your bones start to deteriorate faster, if you already have weak bones preventative measures may not do as much good. You should develop healthy lifestyle habits as early as possible, and teach your daughters to follow these preventive measures too.

The best part about taking these smalls steps is that they may also help prevent other serious health conditions besides osteoporosis. Simply eat a variety of foods, especially foods high in calcium, do some weight bearing excercise, take a calcium supplement and multivitamin daily to maintain healthy bones for a lifetime.

Shop for Watkins Healthy lifestyle productsin the Watkins US store, or the Watkins store Canada or request your free Watkins full product catalog.

Did you enjoy this article and find it helpful? Please recommend us to your friends, it's easy and we appreciate your referrals very much.

Want to quickly and easily find this site again? Simply add it to your bookmarks or favorites

Save Money On Watkins Products

Subscribe to our newsletter, you will receive the most value for your money by keeping up to date with Watkins news, specials and sales. You'll also receive exclusive offers not available anywhere else including a free copy of Healthy Habits - Healthy Lifestyle Guide. it's filled with practicle, simple to follow tips.

Note: Your customer account # and State or Province is optional, entering them will enable us to provide you with better service and exclusive specials offers only available to subscribers. We respect and care about your privacy, and will never rent, sell or share your information.

This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.