Prevention is better than cure, as the saying goes. There are steps one can take that might help prevent osteoporosis instead of having to treat it later. And should on already have it, he or she can still follow these steps to help reverse the disease. These include the following:
- Avoid having carbonated drinks. Champagne or any sort of fizzy drink causes calcium to seep out of your bones. The phosphate content in carbonated drinks increases the loss of the bone.
- Avoid too much of protein. It causes excess acidity which in turn leads to calcium being leached out of your body through your urine.
- Don’t block your stomach acids with drugs when you have a heartburn or hiatal hernia. Stomach acid helps absorb minerals that are significant for the well-being of the body including calcium. Acid blocking agents are to be taken for a few weeks, not for years together.
- Avoid caffeine. Studies say that with every cup of coffee, 150 mg of calcium leeches out of your body through your urine. If you have to have coffee, ensure you have an additional 150 mg of calcium every day.
- Make sure you take in the right kind of calcium. Tums, for instance, is a bad source of calcium because it has calcium hydroxyapatite which is not absorbed well and it decreases stomach acid. Remember, your body can absorb a maximum of 500 mg of calcium only at a time.
- Make sure you get some exposure to sunlight every now and then. Vitamin D helps absorb calcium and helps deposit it in the bones.
- Check your hormones regularly. In women, a decline in hormones after menopause leads to bone loss. In men, the equivalent of menopause is called andropause and it causes bone loss as well. Too much of cortisol, insulin, and parathyroid hormones are also culprits in bone loss.
- Have a diet that is low in refined sugars and starches, high in fiber, and has adequate protein in it.
- Reduce your stress levels. These raise cortisol levels which lead to bone loss.
- Ensure to exercise more. It stimulates the bones and helps increase bone density.