What Is Osteoporosis?

This is a disease that causes bones to weaken and break easily. When you look at bone under a microscope it has a honeycombed appearance with spaces in it. With osteoporosis the spaces increase in size due to the loss of bone itself, and on X-ray the bones takes on a lighter, "washed out" look.

Who Gets Osteoporosis?

Anyone can get osteoporosis, but here is a list of those most likely to get it.

1. Women--the ratio of women to men is about 5 to 1

2. People with thin, small body frames
3. Women who went through early menopause or a complete hysterectomy (surgical menopause) before the age of 45
4. Genetics--it can run in families. It is also more common in those of Northern European descent
5. Certain medications for arthritis, cancer, asthma, and seizures taken over a long period of time
6. Age--those over 50 are more apt to get the disease
7. Hypothyroidism left untreated

What Are The Symptoms of Osteoporosis?

Here's the catch--there really aren't any until a bone breaks! And of course, by the time this happens the bones are already thinned. My point being we need to try and catch the disease before it gets to this stage. 

As osteoporosis progresses the spine becomes curved more and more, causing the person to walk with a "humped over" appearance. There is usually a prominent hump at the base of the neck and the abdomen is thrust forward.


Diagnosing Osteoporosis

Although osteoporosis does eventually show up on routine x-rays, the best way to diagnose and follow how your bones are doing is with a bone density test. Your health care provider can schedule this test for you.

In women a baseline test after menopause is usually the first step in letting you know the status of your bones. Others may have the test done if they have certain risk factors. An example would be someone who has used certain steroid medications for a long period of time because of asthma or some other auto-immune disease. Doctors often repeat this test every few years to see if there are any changes.

Osteoporosis Prevention

1. Get enough calcium--1000 mg every day if you are under 50, and 1200 mg daily if you are over 50
2. Get enough vitamin D--200 IU if you are under 50 years old, and 400 IU if you are over 50
3. Other minerals are very important! Magnesium, copper, zinc and manganese too.
4. Reduce drinking soft drinks. They are acidic and take calcium out of your system to neutralize the acid
5. Stop Smoking!
6. Alcohol in excess
7. Lots of studies have shown regular exercise such as walking and biking help prevent bone loss.
8. Eat foods high is calcium, such as milk, cheeses, yogurt and green leafy vegetables. But remember milk products do not have the correct amounts of other trace minerals your body needs to build bone. Drinking milk alone is not enough to prevent osteoporosis.

Our Natural Supplements

BoneMate Plus is a new improved formulation designed specifically to give the body the correct amount of calcium, vitamin D and minerals to prevent osteoporosis. BoneMate Plus contains 3 forms of calcium--highly absorbable calcium citrate, tricalcium phosphate, and dicalcium malate.

It contains the correct balance of minerals and vitamin D, plus NovaSoy isoflavones, another unique group of compounds found almost exclusively in soybeans. These isoflavones have been shown to support bone mineral density in clinical studies.

I recommend this supplement as the one best for the prevention of bone loss because it has the right formulation of the calcium, vitamins and minerals needed to maintain healthy bones.