Osteoporosis Protection
Protect Your Bones’ Strength and Health
The word “osteoporosis” is a frightening one to most women, and it’s no wonder. The uniquely human condition appears when bones have lost density, leading to a high risk of fracture. Tiny breaks in osteoporatic bones can become life-threatening major fractures, especially in the hip and spine. While men are not immune, osteoporosis primarily affects women—an estimated 8 million American women suffer from it—usually during menopause, when estrogen levels decline. The good news? Osteoporosis is largely preventable.
An Ounce of Prevention
Although genetics play a role in the tendency toward bone loss, human clinical studies show that lifestyle choices can guarantee healthy bones. People who eat meat and dairy products have the weakest bones because the consumption of animal proteins causes the body to leach calcium from the bones and eliminate it in urine. Studies show that bone density is also negatively affected by drinking excessive amounts of soda and smoking. Meanwhile, exercise and strength training hold great promise for preventing osteoporosis. Women who participated in weight-bearing exercise increased their bone mass and decreased their chance of a fracture-inducing fall.
A Fruitless Search for Cures
In the quest to find a cure for osteoporosis, researchers continue to conduct crude, painful experiments on animals. Rats and mice are the most common victims of this research because they’re “inexpensive;” but rodents do not experience menopause or have bone compositions even remotely similar to those of humans. Dogs are subjected to fracture studies even though canine bone strength is not dependent on hormones and dogs do not suffer from anything similar to osteoporosis. Primates do but not until they are in their 20s. Since monkeys of that age are difficult and expensive to acquire, researchers cut the ovaries out of juveniles, inducing menopause and creating an artificial model with results irrelevant to the human form of osteoporosis.
Making Healthy Choices
Early detection, effective treatment, regular exercise, and a diet free of meat and dairy products seem to be the keys to life with healthy bones.
