Last updated: January 26, 2023, 12:50 PM IST
Age-related nutritional needs for bone health vary.
According to Dr Sai Krishna B Naidu, Chief of Orthopaedics, Bone and Joint Surgery Department at Fortis Hospital, Richmond Road, Bengaluru, maintaining good bone health is critical for working women. Read what the expert has to say here
In today’s fast-paced world, bone health has been very essential for working mothers. Bone health is based on the nutritional supplements along with exercises like walking or playing. Calcium supplements of working mothers who breastfeed their babies and pre-menopausal women need more than the normal population.
The nutritional needs for bone health differ according to age. In younger children, the current problems are lack of sunlight exposure for causing poor calcium absorption due to lack of vit-D synthesis. In the middle-aged and working young population, it is due to lack of vitamin D and exercise.
In the elderly it is osteoporosis, ie rapid bone death.
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So how do we address these above issues?
- First, educating and raising awareness of foods rich in calcium and vitamin D, such as:
- Calcium – milk, yoghurt, spinach, almonds, fish (sardines and salmon) oranges, broccoli, mushrooms etc.
- Vit D – fish (sardines, salmon, tuna, etc.), cod liver oil, egg yolk, mushrooms, and especially sunlight.
Daily requirement chart as below: c
Second, emphasis on the importance of exercise for bone calcium mineralization and demineralization. This process, together with Vit D and Vit K, ensures the strengthening of the bones. Normally, our body undergoes bone changes with bone loss followed by new bone formation and deposition. This is a constant process to support this process for good bone quality. Activity and exercise are essential, this could be in the form of walking, running, gymnastics or even dancing. . (a very good form of exercise)
Third, the elderly population, they form a completely different subgroup because most of them suffer from osteoporosis. Osteoporosis cannot be completely prevented, but the impact is that this condition can be significantly minimized through education, adequate medical screening and testing, followed by proper treatment.
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Osteoporosis is a condition in which there is excessive bone loss in women due to hormonal imbalance during menopause/elderly and in men over 60 years of age due to a rapid demineralization process of the bones. Recognizing this condition early is important for prevention and treatment. This can be prevented by hormonal therapy during menopause with drugs such as Bis-phosphonate. This class of drugs prevents rapid bone loss. However, this must be done by a licensed physician and adequate tests must be performed beforehand, such as a DEXA scan and certain simple blood tests. Certain conditions such as thyroid and other hormonal imbalances can also be addressed if properly diagnosed and prevent weak bones.
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