Lifestyle improvements can prevent or halt bone loss. Weight-bearing exercises, such as walking, help the body build bone. Calcium and vitamin D are crucial building blocks. To find out whether your brand measures up, put it in a glass and cover it with vinegar. If it hasn t dissolved in a half-hour, it won t dissolve in your stomach either.
Vitamin D is necessary for calcium absorption.
Ten minutes of sunlight every day on hands and face provide an adequate amount, but New Englanders don t usually get enough from this natural source. Salt, caffeine and alcohol interfere with calcium levels, so it s wise to cut back on salty foods, and limit yourself to two cups of coffee and no more than one glass of alcohol a day. Medicine is waging war against osteoporosis on several fronts. Four recently approved drugs slow the rate of bone loss and a new generation of bone density machines will soon make scanning less expensive and more accessible. Studies are also being conducted on several revolutionary drugs that increase the rate at which the body makes bone tissue.