Osteoporosis Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention

Osteoporosis is a bone disease where the bones become weak and fragile. They sometimes develop small pores and cracks and often break causing fractures unable to withstand the own body weight. This disease generally occurs as the people tend to become older. There are some rare cases where this disease is also found in people who are highly obese and in pregnant women. There are various causes for this disease to occur.

Osteoporosis occurs mainly due to the lifestyle habits one experiences daily and sometimes might also cause hereditarily… If a person’s family has a history of being affected by this disease, then there are more likely chances of even the person getting affected by Osteoporosis. Also, women tend to get effected more than men by this disease. Other factors by which this disease occurs is due to the lifestyle habits and those causes which could be controlled by oneself.

If there are low estrogen levels, particularly in women, then the person is more likely to get affected by Osteoporosis disease. Women should therefore take care of their bone health while at a young age by taking proper supply of nutrients all the while. This helps build the estrogen levels during adolescence and one is not at high risks of this bone disease. Also, if there is any history of broken bones; for example, when a person meets with any accidents or fractures and results in breaking his/her bones, even if at a young age; then such persons also have more chances of getting the bone disease later in the life. This is because, once affected, the bones in that particular location of the body become weak and are not strong enough as they are in the normal people who never experienced any breaking. Such weak bones, on aging of the person, become weaker and tend to develop small cracks, especially if there are no proper nutrients and minerals being supplied and become the primary cause for developing Osteoporosis.

Low body weight in particular persons also result in the person being affected with Osteoporosis disease. Therefore one should try to build their bone mineral density right from their young ages by taking good food sources that are rich in calcium and minerals so that the bone tissue gets strong enough even at the older stages of life.

Most of the causes of Osteoporosis can be reduced by following proper diet and nutrition. Include food sources rich in calcium, like dairy products, green leafy vegetables and whole fruits in everyday diet are one such option to increase the bone mineral density. Vitamin D is another such vitamin that helps bones grow stronger. There are other vitamins and minerals like the magnesium, Vitamin B, Vitamin K etc; most of which are found in the green vegetables and including such nutrients will prevent one from suffering from weak and thin bones in the later stages of his life.

People tend to develop weak bones slowly and gradually and once aging occurs, they might experience few pains at the joints. On screening and undergoing few tests by the doctors, it is found that the patient is affected with Osteoporosis bone disease. So, there are no accurate physical symptoms as such in order to detect if one is affected by the Osteoporosis disease at any time in their life.

Osteoporosis results in weakening and thinning of the bones that often develop cracks and fractures, sometimes unable to withstand their own pressure of the bodyweight. In most of the cases, this disease occurs due to low bone mineral density. The bone tissues do not get proper and sufficient nutrients and as time passes, the bones at the joints often result in cracking and breaking.

Common ways to detect if a person is having low bone mineral density is by getting screened and going for the tests under the care of a doctor. The doctors perform few tests and diagnose if the patient is having low bone mineral density and the amount of risk he/she is in by getting affected by the Osteoporosis disease. Doctors also have many other ways in diagnosing this disease. The entire family history of the person must be examined in detail and clearly if there are any histories of breaking bones or weak bones in the family previously. One should also clearly mention if they had experienced any breakage of fractures while at a young age. The amount of physical activity one involves in their daily life also significantly contributes to the thinning of the bones in the later stages of life.

The lifestyle habits one undergoes in their everyday life, like smoking and drinking alcohol, are few of the primary factors where the person is most likely to get affected by this bone disease. Screening of the bones at the joints is performed on regular checkups by the doctors in order to find out if the bones are getting sufficient nutrients all the time. Low calcium and iron might lead to low bone mineral density and the bone tissue is then responsible for the weakening of the bones. Knees, elbows, ankles, hips etc are quite common places and joints where one tends to experience pain and develop small tiny cracks as they grow older.

The doctors diagnose the patient by performing various tests depending on the lifestyle habits and the age of the person. Suggestions are then given based on the results of the tests obtained to improve and increase the bone mineral density. Foods rich in calcium content are prescribed to the patient. Green leafy vegetables, whole fruits are few of the foods that the doctor prescribes as early or initial stages of developing Osteoporosis is detected in the patients. High screen diagnosing is also done and many medical treatments are also provided if the patient is already suffering from more than milder amount of disease or if he/she is in severe stage of Osteoporosis disease.

Food is the most important and pivotal source in preventing any sort of bone disease. Proper food source intake makes the bones receive appropriate and sufficient minerals and nutrients and one can avoid any weakening or thinning of the bones even as aging occurs. By not following the right diet at early stages in life, proper nutrients cannot be supplied to the bones which results in developing pores and cracks and thereby results in Osteoporosis disease. Osteoporosis is a bone disease where thinning of the bones occurs to the extent where they develop cracks and often result in fracturing, as they are unable to withstand the person’s own bodyweight.

Most of the food sources that are rich in calcium and iron should be consumed to help bones grow stronger and healthier. Spinach is the primary food source. Being a green leafy vegetable, it has all those nutrients and minerals that are necessary for the bones. Calcium and iron, apart from other minerals, are supplied abundantly and sufficiently to make the bones grow stronger.

High caffeine intake also tends to decrease the amount of calcium bone tissue carries. Most of the caffeine-lovers replace milk and go for such beverages. This reduces the calcium in the bones and at later stages, the bone mineral density is also decreased resulting in the weakening of the bones. Proteins are other nutrients which help build muscle mass due to the fiber content available in them. Foods rich in proteins like fish (sardines and tuna for example), beans and cabbages in vegetables, must be taken to build healthy muscle mass. These give strong protection to the bones and prevent the bones from developing any type of cracks and fractures. More amounts of protein nutrients imply that more quantities of iron and magnesium is being supplied to the bone tissue.

One should also make sure that the protein content is not to be taken very abundantly, particularly the animal protein. On excessive intake of high animal protein (like beef or pork) increases the amount of sulphur which results in the forming of an acid that tends to absorb calcium from the bones. Therefore high and excessive protein intake is also not suitable. Moderate and required amounts of any food sources must be consumed as the daily diet.

Consuming high amounts of sodium too decreases the calcium percentage in the bones. Salts contain very high amounts of sodium and most of the processed foods today contain high amounts of salts. So, one must be careful to avoid excessive intake of such foods and try to go for fresh foods all the time.

Hence, food plays a vital role in increasing or decreasing the bone mass density in the bone tissue. Low bone mass density implied proper food is not being taken, thereby depleting the calcium and other nutrients to the bones. Taking proper food and following regular diet helps build strong bones and prevent any kind of bone disease even as aging occurs and in the later stages of life.