Health, Fitness, Exercise, Osteoporosis, Estrogen, bone disorder

MAINTAINING BONE STRENGTH

Your bone tissue is made up of salts (mainly calcium) and protein collagen that gives them strength. These form a matrix of fibers. Within this structure are canals and cavities that allow blood vessels to supply nutrients to the tissue. Nerve fibers are also present along with bone marrow that produces red blood cells.

Osteoporosis, although now a well studied medical area, is a disabling bone disorder still suffered by many people. To the uneducated, it is still believed that it is a problem relating to women only, specifically during the post-menopausal period of their life.

But it is now well known that this is not the only target population that is exposed to, or is likely to suffer from, osteoporosis. With the exposure to the appropriate circumstances and conditions, it is possible for anyone suffer from osteoporosis.

So what triggers this bone deteriorating disease? Is it possible to stop its progress once it has been diagnosed, or possible to overcome completely? Although the answers to these questions are reasonably straightforward, the world seems to still be catching up on appropriate action to be taken for the early prevention of this now reasonably common disease.

What is osteoporosis?
In simplistic terms, it is a condition where the bones become thinner, shorter and more brittle. These conditions also typically result in the actual bone tissue becoming spongy or softened and therefore greatly weakened.
By the time osteoporosis has established itself to this point, the sufferer will normally have lost centimeters off their height. They will be plagued with skeletal issues such as stance capability problems as the result of bad posture and probably have suffered bad fractures of one or more unhealthy bones that will also not be healing correctly.
But why is there a differences in susceptibility between men and women at different phases of their lives? In women, the hormone estrogen does a lot more than just signal the rise and fall of their monthly menstrual cycle. It is estrogen that is also responsible for signaling the break down of old bone tissue and the resultant formation of new bone tissue to replace the old. As females reach their post-menopausal period in life, estrogen levels typically drop dramatically. This is why women typically have a higher susceptibility to osteoporosis during the later phase of life than most men.

So what happens in men throughout their life? They do not have this repetitive monthly cycle (or oestrogen) to rely on for bone regeneration? A similar process does actually take place in men. In this case it is an enzyme that is relied upon to convert testosterone into (yes, you guessed it!) oestrogen, thus signaling the bone regeneration process.

As men age, their levels of testosterone also drop thus resulting in the same basic situation. But these changes take place via a different path. Some men may also suffer from not being able to produce sufficient enzymes to convert the testosterone in sufficient quantities as required to maintain healthy bone tissue concentrations.

Yet another bad effect on men is the usually higher level of exposure to stress. This can also be further aggravated by this stress leading to eating disorders and bad dietary habits. These circumstances also have the effect of dropping testosterone levels, again exposing the sufferer to higher risk levels to osteoporosis. Extremely high levels of bone loss have been found in males who fail to produce sufficient testosterone as a result of any of these causal effects.

So what to do?
A common practice has been the prescription of high levels of calcium, often in the form of milk for females, to assist in the avoidance of osteoporosis. But be aware: extremely high levels of calcium intake can result in other adverse effects on the body, particularly related to the prostrate.

Accordingly some form of balance must be established if this form of preventative care is taken. Typically higher levels of intake of vitamin D can assist in allowing the body to absorb the higher levels of calcium intake that it is being exposed to. Vitamin D is also responsible for maintaining the body's level of dihydroxy-vitamin D3. This is an important substance in aiding in the protection of the prostrate from cancer.

So what about exercise? Exercise is of course a great way to work the bones. But to maintain bone density, it is important to note that a loading must be placed on the bones. A strange thing with the skeletal structure is that the more we load it the stronger it will become. Therefore it is important to ensure that exercises that load up the skeletal regions of the body are used if one of your targeted areas for exercising is the prevention of osteoporosis.

And if you are specifically targeting this area within your routine, try to avoid exercises that support your body weight, such as swimming or cycling. The idea is to carry the weight of your body on the bones in addition to any further loading placed upon it. This ensures they do the work and develop. It is best to leave the cardiovascular and aerobic workouts for another session rather than try and do a combination routine.

It has typically been shown that the greatest increases in bone density comes from weight training, with the most effective being full body session two or three times per week. A loading of around 80 percent of maximum levels has been found to be a good target range. Three lots of eight repetition sets for each exercise have been shown to be very successful in contributing to bone generation.

Typically it has been found that the body will quickly remodel itself to cater to these changes in demand on the skeletal structure. Muscle structure soon develops ensuring that the body is capable of carrying the new loading placed upon it.

Dietary contributions
You should ensure that your food intake also includes foods of the appropriate type for bone health and development. Remember that alcohol consumed in copious amounts will have the effect of interfering with the body's ability to absorb calcium, having a direct effect on bone strength. Alcohol intake can also result in the reduced formation rate of new bone matter within the body.

In addition to taking in calcium to assist in bone regeneration, it is important to then keep it in the system long enough to allow it to do it's job. Potassium and magnesium are nutrients that are directly responsible for lowering blood acidity. This in turn helps to prevent the leaching of calcium from the bones. It has been shown that individuals on a low potassium/magnesium diet can suffer accelerated bone loss of up to 25 percent over a 20-year period (BkkPost).

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