Osteoporosis~misunderstood health condition

Purpose:To help you identify the essential choices that we must make on a regular basis to minimize your risk of developing osteoporosis. First, get yourself of clear picture of the physical structure and functions of your bones. Well, you can also skept this part and directly go to the ways to maintain the healthy bone....

Physical structure of Bones:
are active organs that are filled with a number of different tissues, the main ones being bone tissue (hardened minerals), bone marrow, specialized tissues that line different sections of your bones (endosteum and periosteum), cartilage, blood vessels, and nerves.

Functions Of bones:Production of blood cells (hematopoiesis).Maintenance of delicate acid-alkaline(pH approximately 7.35 to 7.45) balance within your blood by providing a buffering mechanism. Provision of structural framework and protection. A few to be listed.

Re-modeling of bone:This remodeling process is mainly carried out by two types of cells that exist within your bones according to your needs and circumstances. :
Osteoblasts - Responsible for new bone production.
Osteoclasts - Responsible for removing damaged or unneeded cells.

Hormones that have some effects to bones:

Growth hormone
Testosterone
Estrogen
Progesterone
Thyroid hormones (T4, T3 and their derivatives)
Cortisol
Erythropoietin
At this point, it should be clear that primarily focusing on how much calcium you need to take each day is not likely to ensure that you build and maintain healthy bones.

How to Build and Maintain Healthy Bones
1. Be physically active.
No other facet of your life has greater impact on the health of your bones.
Your body is designed to adapt all of your organs -- your bones included -- to your specific needs. If you are physically active, your body will work to make your bones as strong and flexible as possible with its resources. If you lead a relatively sedentary lifestyle, your body will not work to produce and maintain strong bones since your lifestyle is not signaling a need for such bones.
2. Eat mineral-rich foods on a regular basis.
Your body needs much more than calcium supplements to build and maintain healthy bones. When you consider that your bones are comprised of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, manganese, zinc, iron, silica, and many other trace minerals, it should be clear that eating mineral-rich foods is far superior to taking calcium-based supplements when it comes to providing real nourishment for your bones. Examples are green vegetables and herbs.
3. Consider drinking mineral-rich broths on a regular basis.
Broths that are made by simmering bones and a variety of vegetables for an hour or longer are a fantastic source of calcium and other minerals that can be used to keep your bones strong and flexible.
4. Ensure adequate vitamin D status.
Adequate amounts of vitamin D must be present in your body for calcium in your foods to be optimally absorbed and used.
5. Eat high quality fats and cholesterol.
Consumption of high quality fats optimizes the absorption of vitamins A and D into your bloodstream. And vitamin A is needed to keep your intestinal lining healthy and readily able to absorb minerals in the foods that you eat. For these reasons, it's virtually impossible to have optimally healthy bones and teeth without including healthy fats in your diet.
Here are some examples of foods that are rich in healthy fats:
Extra virgin olive oil
Avocados
Organic eggs from cage-free birds
Soaked nuts and seeds (about a handful per day at most)
Cold-water fish and high quality fish oils
Coconuts and coconut oil
Bone broths
Organically raised red and white meats (should be eaten sparingly if eaten at all - with proper planning, there is no physiological requirement for red and white meats)
6. Learn how to effectively manage emotional stress.
Chronic emotional stress can elevate the level of cortisol in your blood. Cortisol is useful for combating stress, but if it remains elevated in your system over the long term, it can cause the matrix of your bones to weaken. Corticosteroid drugs can also weaken your bones and cause osteoporosis if used in large quantities and/or over the long term.
7. Avoid regular consumption of foods that may cause your bones to lose calcium.
Acid-forming foods are foods that bring the pH of your blood down. Because you cannot survive if the pH of your blood moves outside a very narrow range (7.35 to 7.45), your body must buffer the effects of acid-forming foods to maintain a healthy blood pH level. One of the main ways in which your body buffers acid-forming foods is to take calcium from your bones and use it to neutralize the remnants of acid-forming foods. If your body is repeatedly forced to do this, your bones may be weakened.
Foods that are strongly acid-forming in your blood and should not be staples in your diet include:
Artificial sweeteners
Soft drinks (pop)
Sugar
Cookies, cakes, and pastries made with white flour
Table salt
Alcohol
8. Regularly eat foods that are rich in vitamin C.
Collagen is a long, fibrous protein that is critical to providing your bones with tensile strength. In short, the more quality collagen that you have in your bones, the more physical stress that your bones can tolerate before breaking.
Your body needs vitamin C to synthesize collagen. Please note that there is a big difference between the full vitamin C complex found in real foods and synthetic forms of vitamin C found in many nutritional supplements.

I hope that this article makes it clear that your bones are active organs that are slowly supported or eroded by every food and lifestyle choice that you make. Addressing osteoporosis with a calcium supplement or drug without regard for your overall health will not allow you to build and maintain the healthiest bones that your genetics and upbringing will allow.