It’s time to start paying attention to bone density
Did you know that your bone density will be at it’s highest at age 30? In other words, whatever bone density or bone strength that you have at age 30 will be the most that you will ever have — it will just go downhill from there. Most people don’t even think about their bone density until they are in their 40′s, 50′s or 60′s and by then it’s really hard to reverse bone loss known as osteopenia or osteoporosis. So if you think that you are too young to worry about bone loss — think again!
To prevent osteoporosis, the best decision you can make is to start taking at least 1000 mg of calcium citrate (not calcium carbonate) as a teen or twentysomething. Men and women should supplement, but it is most important for females because they often eat less calcium containing foods than males. Make sure you are purchasing a good quality calcium supplement that has calcium citrate in it, not calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is what Tums are made from and do not readily absorb into your blood stream. That’s why they are such a good acid buffer in your stomach!
Taking calcium supplements often is not enough to maintain bone density in today’s sedentary society. You must stress your bones through weight training or resistance exercises. Walking or running isn’t enough. You need to perform some time of resistance exercise with your arms, shoulders, spine, hips and knees to maintain bone density throughout your body. If you simply do lower body exercises, your upper body and spine will lose bone density – what’s the point in exercising if you still get osteoporosis in half of your body?
If you are female and above the age of 50, a bone density screening called DEXA can be performed to see if you already have started to develop bone loss. I suggest that you have this test done every couple of years or as your primary care physcian suggests. If you do show up as having bone loss, talk to your doctor about additional calcium supplementation and weight bearing exercise as an alternative to the bone density drugs touted by celebrities. Many studies are showing significant side effects to these drugs including hip fractures (of all things!) And as always, feel free to talk to me on your next visit and I would be glad to help you protect yourself from osteoporosis.