How to Reduce the Risk of Osteoporosis as You Age

Osteoporosis is a health condition that can thin the framework inside bones. This can cause a minor or more serious fracture, even if you do something as simple as bumping against a door or a piece of furniture. Keeping your bones as strong as possible is really important, particularly as you age.

After the age of 50, weakened bones can lead to breaks for both men and women.

Fortunately, there are several tips that can help reduce the risk of osteoporosis as you age:

Receive enough minerals from food

Minerals are part of the essential nutrients people need in order to stay in good health. Calcium and potassium, in particular, are two minerals closely related to our bones’ good health and structure. Calcium-rich foods include beans, tofu, yogurt, milk, kale, and breakfast cereals.

Potassium is mainly found in fruits and vegetables like potatoes, bananas, oranges, and spinach. Other good sources of this nutrient include, among others, prunes, raisins, and tomatoes. If for any reason you have difficulty receiving enough of those minerals from your food, you should opt for a quality supplement.

Exercise regularly

Regular exercising can really keep you in shape, and when it comes to preventing osteoporosis, even a 20-minute walking session per day can work miracles. Other forms of exercising, including dancing, aerobics, weight lifting, and running can put your bones to work and, therefore, keep them strong.

Particularly weight-bearing and resistance exercise can be really effective in improving your bone density and thus preventing osteoporosis. Muscle-strengthening exercises at least twice a week should also be part of your lifestyle as you get older.

Anabolic therapy 

Our skeleton is an active vital organ. Through a constant process of repair and renewal, our bones remain in good health even as we get older. However, as we age, several factors can affect this process and leave the bones weaker and more likely to break.

Prolonged inactivity, some types of medications, and hormonal changes can all affect our skeleton’s health. In those cases, anabolic therapy may be the key to restoring the bones’ microarchitecture and making them strong and healthy. In fact, anabolic therapy can promote bone formation, and thus, it reduces the likelihood of having fragility fractures. 

Drink less and quit smoking

Smoking is related to an increased risk of osteoporosis. For this reason, limiting it or quitting entirely as you approach the age of 50 is really important. Limiting your alcohol intake can also help in preventing osteoporosis. Drinking less than 14 units of alcohol per week is a satisfactory amount of alcohol, and it’s also important to avoid binge drinking.

Although our genes are responsible for determining the strength of our skeleton, several lifestyle factors, including diet and exercise, can influence how healthy and strong our bones are. Particularly as you get older, it is only natural that you start losing muscle.

You also become more susceptible to breaks or fractures. In some cases, in order to maintain or build bone, your doctor may prescribe some medications or advise you to start anabolic therapy. However, following a healthy lifestyle remains the key to reducing the risk of osteoporosis as you get older.