Start Exercising Now To Prevent Osteoporosis And Enjoy Your Later Years (Part 1)

How do you picture spending your later years, once you have retired? I'm sure most people would say, enjoying more time with family, traveling, enjoying walks in the park and other activities with their spouse.

Sadly though, for a large number of people, their later years are marred by debilitating health problems that prevent them from enjoying their retirement years and all they have worked so hard for. The primary reason that older adults end up not being able to enjoy their retirement years is because of the frailty and fractures that result from age-related declines in muscle and bone mass.

Osteoporosis is a bone disease that affects both men and women, but especially post-menopausal women. The word osteoporosis means "porous bones" - where porous means full of holes. That accurately describes what happens to the bones in older people who suffer from osteoporosis.

The reason that post-menopausal women are especially prone to osteoporosis is because the hormone estrogen helps to protect bone. Since the ovaries of menopausal and post-menopausal women produce less estrogen, a loss of bone density results. However, this does not mean that men should not be concerned about loss of bone density and osteoporosis as they age, as the disease also affects many men.

Here in China, osteoporosis has reached epidemic proportions. Edith Lau, the founding and past president of the Hong Kong Osteoporosis Foundation, said: "Asians are at high risk of osteoporosis. We have a lower bone density, we don't get a calcium-rich diet as children and we increasingly lead a sedentary lifestyle." China has recorded a threefold increase in the cases of osteoporosis in the past thirty years. With the population aging, this will put a considerable burden on family members as well as the public health care system.

The good news is that we are all capable of increasing the strength and density of our bones. The best way to do so is through exercise. However, not just any exercise will do, the right type of exercise is essential.

"Weight-bearing" or "load-bearing" exercise causes the muscles and tendons to pull on the bones. The result is that the bone cells produce more bone. In the same way that a muscle gets bigger and stronger the more that you use it, a bone will become stronger and denser when demands are regularly placed on it.

"Weight lifting, including curls and bench presses, is a beneficial activity … Dancing, stair-climbing and brisk walking are all weight-bearing exercises, which promote (good) mechanical stress in the skeletal system, contributing to the placement of calcium in bones. Aerobic exercises such as biking, rowing and swimming do not strengthen the bones," writes Gary Null in Power Aging.

Interestingly, simply increasing your consumption of calcium in your diet or with supplements is not a guarantee that the calcium will get into your bones. In order to absorb calcium the body needs other nutrients, such as magnesium, and other vitamins. Exercise, particularly weight training, helps the bone retain its calcium. Nutritional biochemist Dr. Neil S. Orenstein of Lenox, Massachusetts says, "Without consideration of these effects, no amount of calcium supplementation will prevent osteoporosis." (Longevity by Kathy Keeton, page 120)

In my next article, I'm going to discuss this subject a little further as it pertains to the benefits of regular exercise in preventing osteoporosis.