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Brandon Pak

Nutrition 1020

Jean Widdison

April 6, 2017

Osteoporosis

I live in a household where my family does not consume very much vitamin D or calcium

in the diet. Dairy is not a common thing that my family eats I am the only one and my sister that

actually drink milk and eat cheese. My older family members are lactose intolerant so getting

their calcium and vitamin D can be very hard.

Osteoporosis is a bone disease that occurs when the body loses too much bone makes

little bone or both. There are two types of osteoporosis, type 1 osteoporosis typically occurs in

women the age of 50-60 years old. This is linked to the decrease of estrogen levels A woman

can lose 20% to 30% of trabecular bone and 5% to 10% of cortical bone between ages 50 and 60,

unless intervention occurs (Wardlaw 383). Type 2 osteoporosis tends to happen later on such as

70. It is due to a combination of dietary and age-related factors; low dietary intake of

bone-building nutrients compounds the problems associated with decreased ability to absorb or

metabolize nutrients. Both men and women who have osteoporosis are also at risk of getting

kyphosis. This is when your spine tends to bend making it harder for you to breath, loss of

appetite, and abdominal pain.

Healthy bones when looked under a microscope looks like they are in a honeycombed

shaped type pattern. Your bones are constantly breaking and renewing, this happens a faster rate

when you are younger. It is easier for you to gain and have stronger bones if you start having a
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proper nutrition at a young age. When osteoporosis has occurred the spaces and holes are bigger

than they are when they are just in the honeycomb pattern. Osteoporosis is fairly common

approximately 10 million Americans have osteoporosis and 44 million have low bone mass

according to the NOF ( National Osteoporosis Foundation). Many people do know they have

osteoporosis or get checked up on if they have it unless they end up breaking a bone. It is

recommended that people over the age of 65 should go get their bones checked. The most

accurate form for testing for osteoporosis is the DEXA (dual energy x-ray absorptiometry) test.

This takes about 15 minutes as is painless. The hip and spine are measured because this is a

common place for osteoporosis to take place. They are given a T-Score which helps observe your

bone density. The disease is responsible for an estimated two million broken bones per year, yet

nearly 80 percent of older Americans who suffer bone breaks are not tested or treated for

osteoporosis. This is a serious chronic disease that people seem to take lightly and does not get

talked about like other diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.

Some of the symptoms that people may have are lower back pain, loss of height over

time, bone fractures that happen often over time. Some of the things that can be factors in you

getting this disease is age, race, gender, family history, and the frame of your body. Women have

smaller bone mass and weaker bones than men have. About 80 percent of the people who have

osteoporosis are women. Some of the causes that put women at a greater risk is that their bodies

estrogen levels decrease sharply right after they go through menopause. This is why that older

women are greatly at a higher risk of getting this disease. For many Asian Americans such as my

family 90% of the adults are lactose intolerant which can make the calcium consumption very
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hard. Some causes that are related to osteoporosis are smoking, drinking, low activity life style,

nutrition, and having other medical conditions such as cancer,lupus, and kidney diseases.

There are many preventions and things you can do to put yourself at a lower risk of

getting osteoporosis. It is important that children are consuming the amount of calcium and

vitamin D. Their bodies absorb this better and their bones are also building faster. Starting

children off at an early age will benefit them greatly. Many parents and schools should have

calcium included to everyday diet to make this disease less common. Adults need to also

consume calcium and continue to do things to make their bones healthier and stronger.

Exercising plays a big role in having strong bones.

There are two types of ways that we can help our bones get stronger with exercise. One

of the ways is called weight bearing exercise. Examples of high impact weight bearing exercise

is hiking, dancing, running, tennis, and stair climbing. Some of the exercises that are considered

low impact are step machines, ellipticals, and low impact aerobics. Another type of exercise that

can help prevent osteoporosis is resistance training such as using weights. Exercise can help by

making your bones thicker and puts you in less chance of getting a fracture. People with

osteoporosis should avoid exercises that can put them in danger of falling because their bones are

much more fragile.

Our nutrition is very important to preventing osteoporosis. Vitamin D helps your body

absorb calcium better and calcium is what makes your bone stronger and healthier. The

Recommended Dietary Allowance for calcium is 1000 milligrams per day for adults up through

50 years of age. A great source for getting calcium is through dairy most dairy products contain a

lot of calcium. Milk and cheese are accountable 75% for the calcium that Americans consume in
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their diets. Fat free milk is the most nutrient dense source of calcium. Other ways that you can

get calcium is breads that have had milk in order to make them or green leafy vegetables such as

kale and spinach. Protein foods that contain calcium are salmon, sardines, tofu, almonds, and

shrimp. In fruits the most calcium you can get is through orange juice that has been fortified with

calcium. If you are lactose intolerant there are still ways that you can consume enough calcium at

a safe level. Excessive calcium intakes by some people can also cause high blood and urinary

calcium concentrations, irritability, headache, kidney failure, soft tissue calcification, and

decreased absorption of other minerals.(Wardlaw 11.3) Vitamin D also has great impacts of

preventing osteoporosis. Vitamin D can be found in diet or getting sunlight. Vitamin D helps

regulate calcium such as absorption of calcium from the intestines, and excretes calcium through

bone remodeling. Vitamin D has other functions as well other than regulating calcium.

Genetics also plays a factor in getting the disease. There have been many studies that link

osteoporosis with genes. People with a family history of osteoporosis, especially those with a

small and frail body structure, are at the greatest risk of suffering from decreased bone density.

Multiple genes and environmental factors influence bone health. If someone in your family has

osteoporosis, you may have inherited factors that make you more susceptible to this disease

Complications with yourself and your body can occur once you are diagnosed with

osteoporosis. This can reduce your mobility which can lead to many other health problems from

not getting enough exercise and gaining weight such as cardiovascular diseases. This can make

you become less social because you are unable to go out and do things that require mobility

because it raises the chances of you getting fractures in your body. Breaking bones can also be a

complication not only does this cause severe pain but it also requires care from a hospital and
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usually has a high cost. Many minor downfalls or minor impacts can cause you to get fractures a

lot easier. Some patients also need to be put in healthcare homes because their hips are no longer

high functioning and they will need dependency. The house also needs to be made for people

that have osteoporosis. Avoid having a house that has clutter because this makes falling a lot

easier. Have handrails and a handlebar for the shower. Having your house installed with carpet

can be a lot safer than tile and wood, it is much more softer and less slippery. People who are

diagnosed must make many changes in their lifestyle to help the lower the risk of injury.

Although right now there are no cure for osteoporosis there are treatments and ways that

can help slow down the breaking of bone and prevent it. There are even some ways that students

can improve bone density and reverse the disorder in some ways. Treatments of osteoporosis can

include medication. Hormone medication such as estrogen are approved for treating osteoporosis

although it can raise the chances of getting a heart attack. Medications work by slowing the

breakdown of bone and maintaining bone density. Other than taking medications it is

recommended that you stop drinking alcohol or using tobacco. Smoking cigarettes speed up the

process of bone loss. Analyzing smoking directly to osteoporosis can be hard but there is a

correlation between tobacco use and this disease. Many smokers tend to be less physically active,

have malnutrition, and also consume alcohol.

Osteoporosis has many causes and is a disease that seems to sneak up on people over

time. There are many ways that we can prevent this disease from happening to us especially

starting our kids off right. They younger you are the better your bones are building and

rebuilding itself. After you get to a much higher age this tends to slow down and your bone mass

also decreases. Consuming and getting enough calcium and vitamin D can help get your bone
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mass bigger and make your bones stronger. There are other ways to get calcium if you are

lactose intolerant. My family is and I will let them know that some other great sources are from

proteins, leafy green vegetables, and drinking orange juice that has been fortified with vitamin D.

Many people think that this disease is not that severe and do not get tested for it which can cause

trouble down the road. Though there are not treatments to cure the disease exercise and

preventing the disease before it starts seems rather simple. Exercise helps the bone to become

stronger and increase their mass. You are less likely to get a fracture due to a fall or injury if you

have great nutrition and exercise regularly.

In my family there has been no one that I have known to get this disease yet or my family

does not have enough knowledge about this disease to know if someone has suffered from it. I

know that my family does not like cheese or milk and hardly ever consume it. It is important that

they get other ways of getting calcium. I have learned the ways in which I could help them

before it is too late. I will offer alternatives that they might find enjoyable and tell them to

exercise on a regular basis. I know that I was at risk for getting osteoporosis as a child until I

became an adult who valued my nutrition and had my own diet. I often exercise regularly with

strength building exercises and impact exercises. I think I am less likely to get this disease

because of the changes that I have made in my lifestyle.

Works Cited

Osteoporosis." Osteoporosis. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2017.

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"Treatment." National Osteoporosis Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2017.

Sampson, Wayne. "Alcohol and Other Factors Contributing to Osteoporosis." National

Institutes of Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, June 2003. Web. 07 Apr. 2017.

"Osteoporosis Treatment: Medications Can Help." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic, 12 Aug. 2004.

Web. 07 Apr. 2017.

Gereace, James. "Exercise for Osteoporosis." WebMD. WebMD, 2007. Web. 07 Apr. 2017.

Ehrlich, Steven. "Osteoporosis." University of Maryland Medical Center. UMM EDU, 24 Mar.

2015. Web. 07 Apr. 2017.

J.M. Spatz, R. Ellman, A.M. Cloutier, L. Louis, M. van Vliet, D. Dwyer, M. Stolina, H.Z. Ke, M.L.

Bouxsein. . (2017) Sclerostin antibody inhibits skeletal deterioration in mice exposed to partial

weight-bearing. Life Sciences in Space Research 12, 32-38.

Wardlaw, Gordon M, Anne M. Smith, and Alice K. Lindeman. Contemporary Nutrition: A

Functional Approach. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.