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Show i i Doctor in the Kitchen" by Laurence M. Hursh, M.D. Consultant, National Dairy Council i ., . . . , - j KEEPING YOUR BONES STRONG Has it occurred to you that your bones serve you in life and survive sur-vive you in death. They hold you together while you're alive. They prove you lived after the rest of your body disappears. As a living being, your muscles mus-cles and the 206 bones in your body, working in combination, control your maneuverability and the very fact of your being a physically independent creature. It is, then, an understatement to say ' that the condition, the strength, if you will, of your bone structure is of great importance. Osteoporosis Widespread So today I'm going to briefly discuss osteoporosis, a disease more widespread than arthritis and estimated to be three times more common than diabetes. Surveys Sur-veys suggest that 25 to 30 percent per-cent of women and 15 to 20 percent per-cent of men over 50 years of age are vulnerable to bone fracture and disablement. After 50 and especially es-pecially after 65 years of age the percent of women with vertebral deterioration rises as high as 80 percent. The beginnings of the disease can, of course, begin much earlier in life. Bones Get Weaker In the bluntest of terms, osteoporosis os-teoporosis is a disease in which the mass and density of your bones are decreased. They are weaker and more porous. Fracture Frac-ture comes more easily. The falls we hear of so often in older persons per-sons may or may not cause the fractures. In some instances, it may more likely be that the bones fracture first, causing the falls. As stated, the disease usually becomes evident (more often by x-ray taken for some other pur pose) during your sixties or seventies. But it may begin in your thirties. There is little early warning of its development. Its characteristics include low back pain, back deformity, loss of height and capacity for physical activity. What's to be done about it? Bone is 99 percent calcium. It is living tissue and is constantly constant-ly changing. We now know that new bone is continually being formed to replace adult bone that is reabsorbed by the body. Normally, Nor-mally, this process is in balance. In osteoporosis, it appears there is imbalance either because not enough calcium is entering the body or too much is being lost. More Calcium Can Help Research shows that a majority of patients gain improved body storage of calcium as they increase in-crease their intake of drinking more milk. Contrary to some beliefs be-liefs that adults may need less milk in their elder years, the reverse re-verse is true you need calcium in abundance as an adult or older old-er person, and milk is your best source. To help prevent osteoporosis, osteoporo-sis, you should push your calcium intake to more than one gram daily. To do this, three glasses of milk a day is a good idea. You should also make sure your diet is adequate in protein from sources besides milk. Adequate vitamin D and C also are essential essen-tial along with an overall balanced diet chosen from a wide variety of foods. And because bones are stronger if you confront them with some work to do, be sure and exercise, maintaining physical activity sensible sen-sible for your age. |