It is known that getting your calcium(otherwise known as drinking your milk) helps build strong bones.And keeping strong bones can help save you from osteoporosis.Generally after menopause,women lose bone at a ferocious rate,causing their bones,particularly in the hip,to become brittle and and liable to break.Some elderly men,too,have osteoporosis.

Although heredity is the number one determinant of whether you develop the bone disease,diet and other factors,like exercise,account for some of the risk.New research shows the importance of life long calcium intake in combating this disease.Also,new evidence suggests that there's more to strong bones than intake of calcium.Scientists have discovered that other nutrients are also essential for guarding against bone loss.

Boron
It's a trace mineral which can have a powerful influence on your prospects for osteoporosis.It is mainly found in fruits and nuts and lack of it can hamper calcium metabolism,making your bones more brittle.New research shows that boron dramatically boosts blood levels of the hormone estrogen and other compounds that prevent calcium loss and bone demineralization.Boron seems to work by boosting steroid hormones in the blood.
Boron is richest in fruits,particularly apples,pears,dates,grapes etc;in legumes notably soy beans;in nuts,including peanuts and hazel nuts, and also in honey.

Manganese
To keep your bones strong,try drinking pineapple juice or eating foods high in the trace element manganese.Manganese,like boron,is implicated in bone metabolism.Pineapple juice is full of manganese,which is readily absorbed by the body.Other good sources of manganese are,nuts,cereals,beans,spinach and tea.

Calcium
The best known mineral to ward-off osteoporosis is calcium.It both builds strong bones and helps keep them from disintegrating in later years. Studies show that eating calcium when you are young equals stronger bones and fewer fractures when older.Women should enter menopause with the strongest,heaviest bones possible.At that time,when estrogen shuts down,calcium begins to drain from bones at dramatic rates.The idea is to keep bones strong by eating enough calcium to slow the losses.
However,calcium intake cannot overcome a genetic predisposition to osteoporosis.Calcium sources besides dairy foods,include kale and soybeans.

Vitamin D strengthens bones.
Be sure to get vitamin D especially if you are an older woman.There is loss of ability to absorb vitamin D as one ages.Vitamin D helps prevent calcium loss.Without vitamin D bones grow weaker.Excellent source of vitamin D are fatty fish and low fat milk.

Foods that aggravate osteoporosis

Too much salt could help destroy your bones by robbing them of calcium,especially if you are elderly and at high risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures.
Caffeine,which is especially found in coffee,fosters osteoporosis,by promoting excretion of calcium,robbing bones of the mineral.A high caffeine intake combined with a low-calcium intake is particularly risky.
Low alcohol intake,can actually raise estrogen levels in menopausal women,helping prevent osteoporosis.Larger doses of alcohol,however,can be very harmful to your bones as well as to the rest of your health.Excessive alcohol intake,fosters osteoporosis by directly attacking and destroying bone cells.

Diet prescription to prevent osteoporosis.

The best prevention is to get adequate levels of critical nutrients that build and preserve bone density,such as calcium,boron,manganese and vitamin D,during your entire life.
After menopause and the loss of estrogen,eating certain foods with estrogenic activity,such as soybeans and high boron foods,may help boost estrogen levels, helping protect against development of osteoporosis.
If you are a young woman,eat sufficient fat or cholesterol to maintain normal body fat and estrogen levels to sustain normal menstrual periods.
Go easy on foods and beverages that steal calcium.Keep coffee intake below 3 cups a day.Restrict sodium,which can flush calcium out of the body,weakening bones.
If you drink alcohol,a drink a day may help bones;heavy drinking destroys them.

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