Bone Care for Elderly Women - Osteoporosis

Elderly women should take more care of their bones. One of the main problems for them is Osteoporosis. Literally speaking Osteoporosis means porous bones.
In Osteoporosis bones become porous, weak and thin. They break very easily like a piece of chalk. A simple fall, a lifting action can result in a fracture.
It is estimated that after the age of 50 years, one out of two women sustain fractures due to Osteoporosis in their lifetime.

Causes of Osteoporosis:
Main cause of Osteoporosis is age. After menopause in women, the production of estrogen hormone diminishes resulting in Osteoporosis

Symptoms:
In early stage Osteoporosis causes no symptoms. Hence it is called as a "Silent Disease". But in advanced stages symptoms can be easily noticed. They are persistent back pain, sudden muscle spasm in the back, curving spine, height loss, broken bones, tooth loss, abdominal pain, etc.

Diagnosis:
The best method of detecting Osteoporosis is "Bone Density" test done in a good diagnostic center.

Prevention:
Prevention is better than cure is cent percent true in the case of Osteoporosis. This can be achieved well by taking calcium rich diet regularly. It is estimated that post menopause women need 1000mg of calcium per day. Again only calcium cannot be absorbed without Vitamin D. Hence vitamin D Should be taken along with calcium and the recommended dose is 400 IU per day.

Main food sources of calcium
1. Milk and Milk products such as cheese, yogurt etc contain good quantity of calcium,
2. Other sources are canned fish with edible bones such as salmon and sardines
3. Dark green leafy vegetables such as Kale and broccoli
4. Orange juice and calcium rich bread etc.

Good Food sources of Vitamin D
Vitamin D is essential for calcium absorption. Good sources of Vitamin D are butter cream, fish oils, liver and egg yoke.

Supplements:
If you do not get enough calcium in food, the same may be added in the form of tablets from medical store. However it is highly recommended that one should take doctors advise before approaching a medical store.