20 October. World Osteoporosis day.

Osteoporosis is a disease that diminishes bone mass and alters the structure of bones, making them more fragile, thin and prone to breakage. It affects almost half of people over 60 and it gets more common with age. There is no specific cause for the disease, but there are several factors to take into account:

• The risk increases rapidly from between the age of 50 and 60.
• Genetics. Having parents or grandparents who suffered from the disease makes you more likely to suffer from it too.
• It is more frequent in Caucasians and Asians.
• A diet low in calcium.
• An excess of tobacco, alcohol and caffeine.
• Prolonged immobilization due to trauma or illness.
• Women are more prone to suffer from osteoporosis due to the reduction in oestrogens following menopause or amenorrhea (absence of menstruation), e.g. sports people, or in the case of anorexia nervosa.

What happens to me if I suffer from osteoporosis?

• Repeated fractures in long bones like the humerus and femur.
• Fractures in the vertebrae due to non-traumatic movement.
• Deformed bones, in the back and shortened stature in the elderly.

I am still young. Can I avoid it? Of course! Just follow this advice:

1. Do physical exercise. Keep active, doing sport regularly. Walk 30 minutes a day, go cycling, running or swimming. You will strengthen groups of bones.
2. Follow a proper diet, with enough calcium and vitamin D, essential for the calcium to be absorbed by the bones.
   Pay particular attention to the most suitable foods: milk and its derivatives like yoghourt or cheese, soya, in bean sprouts, tofu or milk, oily fish like salmon and with bones like sardines, anchovies or mackerel, which provide omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, leafy greens, which contain folic acid and vitamin K or orange juice rich in vitamin C which helps slow down bone loss.
3. Moderate your consumption of alcohol, coffee and tobacco. They help speed up bone mass loss and prevent the calcium from being absorbed or eliminate it in urine.

Avoid a sedentary lifestyle and keep active.

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