Prevention Of Osteoporosis

• Exercise regularly -at least half an hour of brisk walking every day -or choose another kind of exercise that you enjoy.
• Avoid excess alcohol, smoking, and drinks and foods containing caffeine.
• Make sure you have plenty of calcium in your diet and take a calcium supplement (1500 mg daily) with magnesium (750 mg).
• Take boron, found in fresh fruit and vegetables, which protects the bones from calcium loss by reducing its excretion. It increases levels of estrogen and progesterone, both required for maintaining calcium in the bones.
• Include plenty of magnesium-rich foods in your diet. Magnesium may be as important as calcium for maintaining bone density, and is necessary for proper calcium absorption, as is vitamin D.
• Expose your skin regularly to sunlight so your body can make vitamin D.
• Take zinc and vitamins B and E which help maintain estrogen levels.
• Do not diet severely -it is better to be slightly plump than underweight. However, avoid eating fatty foods and too much meat as that can predispose to other health problems such as cardiovascular disease.
• Avoid bran, excess whole grains, rhubarb and spinach as these can reduce the absorption of vital minerals.
• Avoid eating excess dairy foods as a diet high in dairy foods and meat (high phosphorus foods) has been linked to osteoporosis, as has a diet high in convenience foods, which often lack vitamins E, B, and C, magnesium and zinc, and high in phosphorus which encourages bone loss.
• Take vitamin K. Research suggests that it may be vital for prevention of osteoporosis. It helps synthesize a substance called osteocalcin which attracts calcium to bone.
• Avoid constipation, which can upset the normal bacterial population of the gut. A diet high in meat, dairy produce and junk foods will encourage constipation and an over-abundance of unfriendly bacteria in the gut that has been linked to osteoporosis.
• Take herbs containing calcium, notably parsley, dandelion leaves, nettles, kelp, and horsetail which can be added to your diet or taken regularly as a herbal remedy.
• Take estrogenic herbs which discourage calcium loss from the bones - choose from calendula, ginseng, false unicorn root, sage, hops, blue cohosh, wild yam and licorice.
• Add herbs to your prescription to stimulate digestion and absorption of minerals, and to enhance the function of the liver and gallbladder: adequate bile salts are necessary for proper calcium absorption. Choose from dandelion root, yellow dock root, calendula, rosemary, wormwood or yarrow.

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