Fortified Dairy Foods Can Help to Prevent Osteoporosis

When something goes wrong with you, you can look to your gut for the answer. Today, more and more people are looking less to drugs and more to healing foods to get well from an illness and to stay well. If you have osteopenia or osteoporosis, you can look to your digestive system for help. In other words, the foods that you put into your gut can help you treat or prevent osteopenia, thereby preventing osteoporosis.

If you have been diagnosed with osteopenia, you will need to increase the amount of dairy that has been fortified with calcium. Your doctor may suggest you also take calcium supplements, but those supplements should not take the place of natural foods that is fortified with calcium and Vitamin D.

Osteopenia is a condition that causes low bone density; in other words, the minerals in bone are lower than normal. The difference between osteopenia and osteoporosis is that osteoporosis causes bone loss and the bones become much more likely to fracture. Osteopenia and osteoporosis are two different bone conditions; osteopenia is the precursor to osteoporosis. A person diagnosed with osteopenia may or may not have bone loss; however, a person that has been diagnosed with osteoporosis has suffered from bone loss.

Who gets osteopenia?

Osteopenia can naturally occur in a person who is aging, because most of us start losing bone density during our 30s, and we continue losing bone density as we age. Individuals who have been treated with steroids, chemotherapy and radiation may develop osteopenia. People who have had a gastric bypass may also lose bone density because they are unable to retain many of the nutrients in the food they eat. If you have been diagnosed with osteopenia, your doctor may suggest that you eat lots of calcium-fortified dairy products such as kefir, yogurt, low fat milk, cheese, and cottage cheese.

If you have osteopenia, you may be able to avoid the dreaded diagnosis of osteoporosis by making diet and lifestyle changes. Because osteoporosis is a real threat to women who are of menopausal age, it is important to make nutritional and lifestyle changes early on in life. No one wants to lose bone, because it causes the bones to become thinner and more prone to fracturing.

If you have seen men and women with the humps on their backs at the base of their neck and shoulders, this is what happens with osteoporosis. The humps are actually the result of bone fracturing in the spinal column. People with osteoporosis often become shorter due to the fracturing of their bones. Osteopenia and osteoporosis affects all of the bones, not just the spinal bones. Many of the hip and wrist fractures in older people are caused by bone loss related to decreasing bone densities.

Probiotics and the immune system

It is important to eat foods that will help your immune system; therefore, foods like kefir and yogurts with live bacteria should become part of the diet on a daily basis. These foods that contain live bacteria cultures are called probiotics. Probiotics are good bacteria. We need good bacteria in our small and large intestines in order to keep our immune systems strong. By keeping our immune systems strong, we will be less likely to suffer from debilitating diseases, such as osteoporosis. Many people may have osteopenia, but that doesn't mean they have to go on to develop osteoporosis. Making dietary and lifestyle changes (getting enough exercise and avoiding unhealthy habits) can be the best measures to prevent the onset of osteoporosis.

Sources:

Difference between Osteopenia and Osteoporosis

Osteopenia Web MD